KATHMANDU: A total of 100,620 doses of
Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine donated by the United States of America arrived in Kathmandu on Monday.
Sepideh Keyvanshad, Mission Director for US Agency for International Development (USAID) in Nepal, handed the shipment of coronavirus vaccines given to
Nepal on a grant. The shipment was received by Health Secretary Dr Roshan Pokhrel.
HOW badly are SAARC countries already affected by climate change, and what is the hope the damage could be contained before it becomes an unmitigated disaster? With these paramount questions, there should have been a common strategy, a shared concern representing the eight member states at the Climate Change Conference starting in Glasgow on Sunday. It didn’t happen because the group is largely frozen in time over shortsighted agendas and seasonal military skirmishes between India and Pakistan.
The Maldives is one of the more vulnerable Saarc members. It could literally disappear under the rising waters of the Indian Ocean if global warming is not reined in very urgently. And then there’ll be seven Saarc countries left. But, as Agatha Christie would ask, for how long can the remaining seven survive? The populous low-lying delta region of Bangladesh is primed to be inundated if the oceans continue to rise, thus presaging a demographic catastrophe.
If the looming threat were not vacated post-haste to thwart the inevitable, the impact would not spare Indian states surrounding Bangladesh, as well as other countries in the neighbourhood. The controversial Indian citizenship act would mutate into something more sinister, not least because a scientific discussion, which should be about the tussle between human greed and human need from nature, has been discarded to drive a myopic and divisive politics.
Afghanistan, whose mountains boast of the second highest snow cover after the Arctic ice, is gazing at a dark future independent of any ruler’s conservative or puritan worldview. Climate change affects the hydrological cycle, influencing both water availability and demand. Climatic variability, several studies say, is inevitably “greater in the Hindu Kush–Himalaya (HKH) mountainous region of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan, than in other parts of the world. Glaciers are one of the most important indicators of climate change, and the HKH region is host to some of the world’s largest glaciers, which are the major water source of the Indus, Brahmaputra, and Ganges rivers”.
Water shortages, drought, floods or landslides and tsunamis are not constrained by national boundaries.
These river basins remain very sensitive to changes in climate. The glaciers in this region are also feared to be among the world’s fastest thinning glaciers. Turning them into war zones and battlefields as India and Pakistan have been doing since the 1980s in Siachen is not prescribed. The temperature is apparently set to increase in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region by 1.7 degrees Centigrade to 6.3°C by the end of this century. In many parts, monsoonal precipitation may increase, and it is predicted that extreme precipitation events will occur more frequently.
Band-aid approaches won’t do. The aerial survey of Indian Home Minister Amit Shah last week over the Uttarakhand state will remain cosmetic and hypocritical if lessons are not learnt. Incessant rains have caused massive landslips and floods in which dozens have perished in the BJP-ruled state, among the most ecologically sensitive Himalayan regions to have experienced disasters and untold misery in the recent past from nature’s fury.
Clearly, the South Asian club could do well to suspend its chronic political differences between India and Pakistan to jointly vacate the threat the member states are facing. Water shortages, drought, floods or landslides and tsunamis are not constrained by national boundaries. A climate-driven crisis can be like a locust invasion. It leaps over the barbed wires and slips past armed sentries that are supposed to keep boundaries securely demarcated. A water crisis can trigger a bitter political row between regions within national boundaries as it does between sovereign neighbours. Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in India, or Sindh and Punjab in Pakistan are excellent examples of how things could go seriously wrong politically and socially within domestic boundaries if climate change is not addressed on a war footing.
As water becomes scarce its demand also increases. The Chinese Communist Party has mandated its government to construct a dam on the Brahmaputra, considered a lifeline for northeastern India and Bangladesh. The plan envisages building the dam at Medog county, bordering India, where the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon is located. Yarlung Zangbo is the Tibetan name for Brahamaputra. Medog in Tibet abuts India’s Arunachal Pradesh.
The Chinese plan is not constrained by any pact as India and Pakistan are by the Indus Waters Treaty. However, the quest for scarce water has found India and Pakistan at loggerheads even over their internationally brokered treaty. One remembers filing a report for Dawn quoting former Indian foreign secretary, the late S.K. Singh, during a rough patch in bilateral ties. “Switch off the Indus waters,” Singh had demanded. Early morning the next day, Dr Mubashir Hasan was on the phone from Lahore. As Z.A. Bhutto’s water resources minister he knew the implication of Singh’s call. “What have you published? It will be an act of war,” the long-time advocate of peace and friendship between India and Pakistan had cautioned.
In a 2014 report, the Asian Development Bank underscored the impact of climate change in South Asia. It said a “warming trend of about 0.75°C has been observed in annual mean temperatures in South Asia over the past century. Unless there is a concerted effort worldwide to cut greenhouse gas emissions, South Asia will suffer huge economic, social, and environmental damage from the consequences of climate change”.
ADB had said that “between 1990 and 2008, over 750 million people in South Asia were affected by at least one natural disaster, resulting in almost 230,000 deaths”. It stated that “the livelihoods of more than 200 million people in Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka are threatened by the rapid loss of snow cover in the Himalayas and rising sea levels”.
Without joint action, “the collective economy of six countries — Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka — could shrink by up to 1.8 per cent every year by 2050 and 8.8pc by 2100, on average”.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are not far behind. Wake up Saarc.
This article was originally published in Dawan.com.
AFP– Asia suffered its hottest year on record in 2020, the United Nations has said ahead of the CoP26 summit, with extreme weather taking a heavy toll on the continent’s development.
The mean temperature pushed 1.39C above the 1981-2010 average, according to a report by the UN’s World Meteorological Organization.
It said every part of the region had been affected with the 38C registered at Verkhoyansk in Russia recorded provisionally as the highest known temperature anywhere north of the Arctic Circle.
“Extreme weather and climate change impacts across Asia in 2020 caused the loss of life of thousands of people, displaced millions of others and cost hundreds of billions of dollars, while wreaking a heavy toll on infrastructure and ecosystems,” the WMO said in its State of the Climate in Asia report.
“Sustainable development is threatened, with food and water insecurity, health risks and environmental degradation on the rise.”
The report comes days before CoP26, the UN climate change conference being held in Glasgow from Sunday 31 October to November 12.
The report also laid bare the total annual average losses due to climate-related hazards.
China suffered an estimated $238bn, followed by India at $87bn, Japan with $83bn and South Korea on $24bn.
But when the size of the economy is considered, the average annual losses are expected to be as high as 7.9% of gross domestic product for Tajikistan, 5.9% for Cambodia and 5.8% for Laos.
Increased heat and humidity are forecast to lead to an effective loss of outdoor working hours across the continent, with a potential cost of many billions of dollars.
“Weather and climate hazards, especially floods, storms, and droughts, had significant impacts in many countries of the region,” said WMO chief Petteri Taalas.
“Combined, these impacts take a significant toll on long-term sustainable development.”
Many weather and climate-related displacements in Asia are prolonged, with people unable to return home or integrate locally, the report said.
In 2020 floods and storms affected approximately 50 million people in Asia, resulting in more than 5,000 fatalities.
This is below the annual average of the last two decades (158 million people affected and about 15,500 fatalities) “and is testimony to the success of early warning systems in many countries in Asia”, with around seven in 10 people covered.
In 2020, average sea surface temperatures reached record high values in the Indian, Pacific and Arctic Oceans.
Sea surface temperatures and ocean warming in and around Asia are increasing more than the global average.
They have been warming at more than triple the average in the Arabian sea, and parts of the Arctic Ocean.
Arctic sea ice minimum extent (after the summer melt) in 2020 was the second lowest on the satellite record since 1979.
There are approximately 100,000 square kilometres of glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau and in the Himalayas – the largest volumes of ice outside the polar regions and the source of 10 major Asian rivers.
“Glacier retreat is accelerating and it is projected that glacier mass will decrease by 20 percent to 40 percent by 2050, affecting the lives and livelihoods of about 750 million people in the region,” the report said.
“This has major ramifications for global sea level, regional water cycles and local hazards such as landslides and avalanches.”
A quarter of Asia’s mangroves are in Bangladesh. However, the tropical storm-exposed country’s mangroves decreased by 19 percent from 1992 to 2019, the report said.
New Delhi — Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD), the apex international annual conference of the Indian Navy, is scheduled to be held as a three-day online event that commences on October 27 and lasts till October 29.
According to a press statement by the Ministry of Defence, the Dialogue is being held every year since 2018. This year’s IPRD will focus on eight specific sub-themes under the broad theme of “Evolution in Maritime Strategy during the 21st Century: Imperatives, Challenges, and, Way Ahead”. ( ANI )
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN — Member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Tuesday kick-started their 38th and 39th summits under the chairmanship of Brunei via virtual conference, with fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and promoting economic recovery high on the agenda.
The ASEAN summits, with the theme “We Care, We Prepare, We Prosper,” is expected to discuss a number of issues including further strengthening the resilience of the ASEAN Community towards regional recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, enhancing the preparedness of ASEAN in addressing common challenges; seizing new opportunities in pursuit of shared prosperity; and maintaining cooperation towards achieving the region’s long-term goals.
Scheduled for Tuesday to Thursday, the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits and related summits will also be joined by leaders from ASEAN’s dialogue partners, including China, Japan, South Korea, India, United States, Australia and Russia, among others.
Established in 1967, ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Brunei is the ASEAN chair for 2021. (Xinhua)
KATHMANDU — The 26th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (CoP26) is taking place from October 31st through November 12, 2021, in Glasgow, Scotland of the United Kingdom.
A high-level delegation led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba from Nepal is scheduled to attend the conference. The Nepali delegation comprises the Minister for Forests and Environment Ramsahay Prasad Yadav and the Secretaries of various ministries, among the government officials.
The Ministry of Forests and Environment has made efficient preparations for the country’s participation in the COP26 at the Head-of-Government level. It is the Liaison Ministry for COP26 for Nepal.
The Ministry said the required preparations for the main conference as well as the side event and talks have reached the final stage.
Nepal has made preparation to strongly raise the COP26 issues like the impact of climate change on the entire Himalayan economy, on its ecosystem as well as on the ecosystem of the downstream region.
Besides this, topics as climate hazards, seeking resources for the implementation of the National Dedication Commitment (NDC) Report, and Carbon financing would be Nepal’s priority in the COP26 meeting, the Ministry Secretary Prem Narayan Kandel said, adding that the Ministry was doing the necessary homework on the topics it is raising in the conference.
“The preparation this time has been effective and we are confident the high-level participation will make Nepal’s presence in the conference all the more effective,” he said.
The Ministry has already carried out works like preparing and presenting the required reports and documents including the long-term strategy, the report on climate-induced hazards and losses, the National Adaptation Plan, NDC, Third National Communication (TNC), the Technological Needs Assessment (TNS), Gender and Social Inclusion Strategy and its action plan, so as to support the implementation of Paris Agreement.
Secretary Kandel said a plan has been brought for reducing the GHG to zero in 2045 AD itself through the long-term strategy. “We have already prepared the report on the financial source required for reducing the climate-induced damages and losses and to adapt to it.”
He shared that Nepal would also be raising the topics as it has fared well in forest conservation increasing the area under forest to nearly 45 percent and pursuing community-based conservation programs.
Likewise, Nepal will be pressing the developed countries to provide the amount that they have committed as compensation for carbon emission.
Secretary Kandel said Nepal would also emphasize facilitating the tools of financial assistance and having the government’s direct access to it.
According to him, PM Deuba will head the Nepali delegation in the high-level session of the conference while he himself would be leading the technical sessions under the COP26. Apart from this, teams comprising experts have been formed on various themes which will be holding side-line talks.
The COP summit which is held every year could not be held last year due to COVID-19 and it will be important this time in terms of discussing the goals that had to be achieved within five years of the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
COP26 will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The conference has added significance in that it will also discuss the topics pointed out by the International Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the scientific body on climate change.
Nepal has already tabled its NDC Synthesis Report alongside other countries which would help implement the roadmap to reduce greenhouse gas emission to zero until 2050 as per the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Other goals of the agreement are to limit the world’s average temperature increment rate to 1.5 degrees Celsius and not exceeding 2.0 degrees Celsius.
Nepal is on the list of countries that have been most affected by climate change. It has been raising this issue in the international forum.
Issues that would be prioritized in the Conference this time are climate change-induced disasters, said Dr Radha Wagle, chief of the Climate Change Management Division under the Ministry.
The Ministry has prepared a status paper to be tabled in the Conference after collecting suggestions from various 10 groups of people including experts and stakeholders from government and non-governmental organizations working on climate change, he said.
The Conference will be attended by the head of the state/head of the government of more than 121 countries. Similarly, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson will organize the ‘Global Leader Summit’ on the sidelines. The Summit is expected to be the center of attraction of the world.
Prime Minister of Nepal Deuba is scheduled to address the Summit and the Foreign Ministry is at homework on the issues to be raised there, it has been said.
So far, head of the state/head of the government of more than 121 countries to be representing the Summit includes President of the United States, Joe Biden, Queen of the UK, Elizabeth II, Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, President of France, Emmanuel Macron, President of South Korea Moon Jae-in.
According to the schedule, PM Deuba will address the Summit on the second day. The Summit is scheduled to conclude between 5 pm to 5:30 pm.
(Bhishma Raj Ojha/RSS)
Kathmandu — The death toll from floods and landslides triggered by the post-monsoon torrential rain in Nepal has reached 88 by Wednesday evening while 30 people are missing in different parts of the country, according to the latest update by police administration from various districts.
Among the total dead in disaster, 57 are from Province 1, and 29 from Sudurpaschim Province while one life each was lost in Bagmati and Karnali, the Rising Nepal writes.
However, the Disaster Management Directorate of the Home Ministry said Wednesday afternoon that the death toll reached 77 and 27 went missing in the floods and landslides across the country.
According to an update provided by the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Authority, 22 have sustained injuries and 27 houses have been damaged completely after three days of heavy rains triggered landslides and floods across Nepal.
New Delhi — Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director of World Health Organization South-East Asia on Thursday congratulated India for administering one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses in the country.
“Huge congratulations to India for marking yet another milestone, a billion COVID-19 vaccine doses administered,” she said in a video address.
Speaking further Singh said, “The extraordinary feat in a short span was not possible without strong political leadership, inter-sectoral convergence, dedicated efforts of the entire health and frontline workforce.”
“India’s progress must be viewed in the context of the country’s commendable commitment and efforts to ensure these life savings vaccines are accessible globally,” she added.
In a landmark achievement, India’s cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage crossed 100 crore doses on Thursday.
A total of 100 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far to eligible beneficiaries, as per the CoWIN portal at 9:47 am today.
India’s COVID-19 vaccination drive was launched on January 16, 2021. Initially, the vaccination was opened for Health Care Workers (HCWs) only.
From February 2, front line workers were made eligible for vaccination. These included state and Central Police personnel, Armed Force Personnel, Home Guards, Civil Defence and Disaster Management Volunteers, Municipal workers, Prison Staff, PRI Staff and Revenue workers involved in containment and surveillance, Railway Protection Force and election Staff.
The vaccination drive was expanded from March 1 to include persons above 60 years of age and those above 45 years with associated specified 20 comorbidities. It was further expanded to all people above 45 years of age from April 1. From May 1 all persons above 18 years of age were made eligible for COVID-19 vaccination. (ANI)
MOSCOW (AFP) – Russia and Central Asia powerbrokers agreed on Wednesday (Oct 20) to work with the Taliban to promote security in the region and called on Afghanistan’s new leaders to implement “moderate” policies.
Moscow hosted the Taliban for talks in the Russian capital, seeking to assert its influence in the region and push for action against Islamic State fighters, which it says have massed in perennially volatile Afghanistan.
Representatives of 10 countries including China and Iran agreed in a statement after the talks to continue to “promote security in Afghanistan to contribute to regional stability”.
The participants also called on the Taliban to “practice moderate and sound internal and external policies” and “adopt friendly policies towards neighbours of Afghanistan”.
On domestic policy, they called on them to “respect the rights of ethnic groups, women and children”.
Women’s rights under the Islamist regime are a top concern.
London – About 97 million more people are living on less than US$ 1.90 a day because of the Covid 19 pandemic, the World Bank has said.
In an article, a group of World Bank economists said that globally, three to four years of progress toward ending extreme poverty are estimated to have been lost.
The global poverty rate has increased from 7.8 percent to 9.1 percent, they said.
In May this year, the United Nations said that as developed nations spring back to life, the world’s most vulnerable struggle on the sideline.
Many pre-existing vulnerabilities for vulnerable nations were brought into stark relief by the pandemic. These include an over-reliance on a limited number of economic sectors, high levels of debt and challenges in mobilizing public and private finance. With strong support from the international community required, recovery will need to focus on addressing the most critical structural challenges and building the resilience of key economic sectors, the UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States said.
Poorer Countries Sidelined
If poorer countries are sidelined in recovery efforts, the global economic loss could be as much as US$ 9 trillion, more than the annual GDP of Japan and Germany combined. This is not just a moral necessity but an economic no brainer. As long as vulnerable nations remain behind, no single country will fully recover, the UN said.
So what needs to be done? The World Bank economists say that tackling increases in inequality and global poverty needs to start by accelerating the economic recovery in low- and lower-middle income countries.
“That means increasing the supply of Covid-19 vaccines to these countries, as their current low vaccination rates are an obstacle to growth…. To ensure that the recovery is equitable and benefits all groups within countries, spending and policies that target women, low-skilled workers and urban informal sector workers are necessary. This includes providing equal access to financial services and technology and investing in safety nets and social insurance,” the authors said.
The article can be accessed at : https://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/covid-19-leaves-legacy-rising-poverty-and-widening-inequality
London — More foreign butchers will be allowed to temporarily work in the UK as the government seeks to prevent a cull of more than 100,000 pigs.
Farmers have already been forced to cull thousands of healthy pigs on farms (meaning they’re are not allowed to be used for food) because a lack of a butchers at slaughterhouses in the UK.
In a bid to stop more pigs being wasted, the government has announced measures that will allow hundreds of foreign butchers to work in the UK – similar to recent move that is allowing up to 5,500 poultry workers in the UK ahead of Christmas under the temporary workers route, ITV reported.
Environment Secretary George Eustice admitted butcher shortages had been a “aggravating factor” in the pig industry, with around 800 butchers needed to fill the workforce gap – the scheme will last six months.
Goa, India — India’s first museum dedicated to alcohol has opened its doors to ‘spirited’ enthusiasts in Goa.
The museum ‘All About Alcohol’ is set up by local businessman, Nandan Kudchadkar, in Candolim village of North Goa. It houses hundreds of artefacts linked to feni, including large, traditional glass vats in which the local cashew-based alcohol was stored centuries ago.
Speaking to ANI, Kudchadkar, who is a collector of antiques, said the idea behind the museum was to make the world aware of Goa’s rich heritage, especially the story of feni, the strong local drink.
AFP — Myanmar’s junta chief will be excluded from an upcoming ASEAN summit, the group said Saturday, a rare rebuke as concerns rise over the military government’s commitment to defusing a bloody crisis.
Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed at an emergency meeting late Friday that a “non-political representative” for Myanmar would be invited to the October 26-28 summit, current ASEAN chair Brunei said in a statement.
The decision effectively excluded junta leader Min Aung Hlaing.
The Myanmar junta slammed the decision on Saturday evening, accusing ASEAN of breaching the bloc’s policy of non-interference in the domestic affairs of its member states.
“We can also see the interference from the other (non-ASEAN) countries,” junta spokesman brigadier general Zaw Min Tun told the BBC Burmese section.
He seized on talks between the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and ASEAN special envoy, Brunei’s Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof, ahead of the meeting and also singled out EU pressure.
The bloc, widely criticised as a toothless organisation, took a strong stand after the junta rebuffed requests that a special envoy meet with “with all stakeholders” in Myanmar — a phrase seen to include ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The statement noted “insufficient progress” in the implementation of a five-point plan agreed by ASEAN leaders in April to end turmoil following a coup in February.
It also said that the situation in Myanmar “was having an impact on regional security as well as the unity, credibility and centrality of ASEAN”.
Richard Horsey, Myanmar adviser to Crisis Group, predicted the “non-political” representative would be someone below the level of minister or deputy minister.
Singapore’s foreign ministry described the move as a “difficult but necessary decision to uphold ASEAN’s credibility”.
Mustafa Izzuddin, global affairs analyst at consultancy Solaris Strategies Singapore, called the exclusion “a political stopgap measure for ASEAN to assuage international criticism”.
It sent a “political signal” to the junta “that ASEAN is not one to be pushed around”, Izzuddin added.
And independent Myanmar analyst David Mathieson said that “in ASEAN terms this is a real slap in the face”.
Thorn in ASEAN’s side
Myanmar, mostly ruled by the military since a 1962 coup, has been a thorn in ASEAN’s side since it joined in 1997.
Elections in 2015 overwhelmingly won by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party ushered in the start of civilian rule — but this was cut short by the coup.
ASEAN has been under international pressure to address unrest that erupted after the putsch, including massive protests; renewed clashes between the military and ethnic rebel armies in border regions; and an economy spiralling into freefall.
The bloc has expressed disappointment at a lack of cooperation from the junta, which continues to crack down brutally on dissent. More than 1,000 civilians have been killed, according to a local monitoring group.
Part of the consensus was to allow a long-delayed visit by a special envoy, Brunei Second Foreign Minister Yusof.
ASEAN has insisted that he meets with all parties concerned, but the junta rejected any proposed meetings with people on trial, among them Suu Kyi, who is facing various charges.
A senior US administration official, commenting on media reports about the exclusion before the official statement was released, said “it seems perfectly appropriate and, in fact, completely justified… for ASEAN to downgrade Burma’s participation”, using Myanmar’s former name.
Member nations had already voiced their disappointment at the path the junta has chosen.
“If there is no real progress then Malaysia’s stance will remain: that we will not want the general to be attending the summit. No compromise on that,” Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said Friday ahead of the meeting.
London — The British Asian Trust has raised £4.69m including £2m in match funding from the UK government for a programme helping rebuild livelihoods of Pakistani women impacted by Covid-19.
According to fundraising.co.uk the British Asian Trust received the funds from the government in support of its “If I Can, She Can” Appeal and is investing it into its Women’s Economic Empowerment programme.
The programme equips Pakistani women with the skills, knowledge and confidence needed to find a job or start their own business in a post-Covid world. So far, it has helped more than 9,800 women increase their income, placed more than 3,400 women in paid internships and employment opportunities, and supported over 7,000 women in starting their own enterprises.
Richard Hawkes, Chief Executive of the British Asian Trust said:
“We are absolutely delighted to have raised the incredible total amount of £4.69m (Rs 108 crores) – including the £2m matched by the UK government – thanks to the incredible generosity of our supporters and the government. It is more important than ever that we all come together to help marginalised people and communities – especially those whose lives have been devastated due the pandemic.”
“This is a great example of the government, the public and a charity working together on something incredibly successful that will change the lives of hundreds of thousands of women.”
New Delhi– The death toll due to heavy rains in the southern Indian state of Kerala rose to 18 on Sunday, local media reports said.
The heavy rains hit the state on Saturday, triggering landslides and flooding.
“Rainfall in Kerala continued to disrupt normal life in the southern state on Sunday, with as many as 18 people losing their lives in rain-related incidents so far, and dozens of others missing after flash floods and landslides in multiple regions,” local newspaper Hindustan Times reported.
Indian army, air force, and navy have joined the local government agencies in rescue efforts. The disaster management officials have pressed sniffer dogs into service.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said all government agencies have been directed to take necessary steps to rescue people from the affected regions and evacuate those living in areas prone to landslides and floods.
“Relief camps have been started in the affected areas. People should take care inside the camps and observe COVID-19 behavior by maintaining necessary physical distancing and wear masks,” a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office said. “People are not supposed to gather in camps and collectors have also been instructed to increase the number of camps if more people have to be accommodated.”
Officials said the majority of the deaths were due to landslides.
“The maximum amount of damage due to rainfall has been reported from the Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, and the Idukki districts,” an official said.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) Sunday said only light to moderate rainfall is likely to take place during the next 24 hours.
Officials attributed the heavy rains in the state to a low pressure that was formed in the Arabian Sea. (Xinhua)
Kathmandu — Nepal is playing the final match of SAFF Championship-2021 today. The match will be played at the national football stadium in Male, the capital city of Maldives, at 8:45 pm.
After playing draw against Bangladesh in the final group match of the Championship underway in the Maldives, Nepal has booked its place for final.
It is not easy for Nepal to beat India that has already lifted SAFF tile for seven times in the 13th edition. India has reached the final by becoming the winner of the league stage and Nepal as first runner-up.
India had notched up eight points from two wins and two draws while Nepal made seven points from two wins, one draw and one loss.
Earlier, out of 22 matches, Nepal had lost 14 games, five wins and drawn twice. In the ongoing SAFF, India had defeated Nepal by 1-0.
Coach of Nepali team Kiran Shrestha has said that Nepal has reached the final for the first time and will leave no stones unturned to capitalize on this opportunity, Khabarhub writes.
