Kerala declares Kochi shipwreck a state-specific disaster
As interim relief, affected fishermen will be given Rs 1,000 and 6 kg of rice, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was quoted as saying by PTI.
The vessel, MSC ELSA-3, carrying 640 containers capsized on Sunday, about 15 nautical miles southwest of Alappuzha. It was carrying 13 containers with hazardous cargo and 12 of calcium carbide.
All 24 crew on board the vessel were rescued. The ship was on its way to Kochi from Vizhinjam, the defence ministry said.
The shipwreck poses a potentially serious threat to Kerala's coast environmentally, socially and economically, The Hindu quoted Tinku Biswal, principal secretary of the State Disaster Management Department as saying in a government order.
The incident raised environmental concerns, including the risk of oil spills and drifting debris along Kerala's 640-km coast, Biswal added.
The order permits the State Disaster Management Authority to mobilise resources, including personnel and significant sums of money from the State Disaster Response Fund for relief efforts.
So far, at least 54 containers have washed ashore: 43 in Kollam, nine in Thiruvananthapuram and two in Alappuzha.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
SDRF man Gets adoption Calls for 13-month-old girl saved from Kishtwar rubble, but child reunited with family
Kishtwar: Indian Army personnel construct a Bailey bridge as part of restoration work at cloudburst-hit Chadoti village, in Kishtwar district, Jammu and Kashmir. (PTI Photo) CHASOTI: A long beard, a navy-blue cap, a megaphone, and a child in his lap. That was how the world met Shahnawaz, an SDRF member from Doda in J&K. His photo — cradling a 13-month-old girl pulled alive from rubble at Chasoti village in Kishtwar district — has gone viral. Calls and messages poured in. Strangers wanted to adopt the baby. 'Her parents have been found. She is with them now, but people don't believe me,' Shahnawaz said Sunday. They kept calling. Flash floods from a cloudburst on Aug 14 tore through Chasoti's hillside stream. Rajai Nalla roared, hurling down boulders, trees, homes. A bridge snapped. People crossing the wooden span were swept away. Pilgrims at campsites and langars for Machail Mata Yatra vanished in a matter of seconds. At least 61 dead, 116 injured, and about 70 still missing. Rescue teams dug with excavators. Relatives stood along mud-brown banks, eyes fixed on orange vests. Desperation pushed them dangerously close to the torrent until one voice cut through: 'Step back.' That was Shahnawaz again, megaphone in hand, sprinting up and down the stream. 'Everyone is desperate. You cannot stop them from rushing to the spot when they hear that a body has been found,' he said, his voice turning hoarse. On Aug 14 evening, while clearing a shattered home, he spotted a faint movement — a tiny arm under debris. He pulled out the child, cleaned her, and wrapped her in a blanket. Then he asked colleagues to free a woman trapped nearby — the girl's mother, a healthcare worker. Alive. 'When the child began to cry, I was happy,' he said. Later that night, when phone networks revived, Shahnawaz's photo exploded online. 'I felt proud that people recognised our work. We gave our 100%. Saving lives brought us happiness.' The girl was handed back to her father, who had been frantically searching. Shahnawaz kept moving. The next day, Independence Day, he revived another girl with CPR and mouth-to-mouth. He had seen Kishtwar's worst for six years since he joined SDRF in 2019 — bodies fished from Chenab's icy currents after road crashes in the region's harsh terrain. 'Last winter, after pulling bodies from the freezing river, I felt my blood circulation had stopped,' he said. His family has always been supportive and proud of his work, despite the dangers. 'They're happy I saved the infant,' he said, smiling. Then he turned serious, patting the megaphone slung by his side: 'It has drained my voice, but it is part of my job.' As dusk fell on Chasoti, Shahnawaz's chilling warning echoed — stay away from the killer stream.
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
CM hands over keys to new police housing
Kolhapur: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday handed over keys to the first residents of the Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj Police Sankul, a new housing complex in Kolhapur. Developed by the Maharashtra State Police Housing and Welfare Corporation at a cost of Rs 34 crore, the project is located in Juna Budgwar Peth. It features 168 new 2-BHK apartments, each measuring 538 square feet, spread across three seven-story buildings. The new housing is a significant step in providing modern living spaces for police personnel and their families. The campus includes amenities such as elevators, a garden area, parking, a playground for children, a walking track for senior citizens, a solar system, fire safety measures, a temple and an STP plant. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Time of India
Villages near VTR left in darkness for years
1 2 3 4 5 6 Bettiah: A large number of villagers in three settlements near the Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) have been living without electricity for years in Bagaha. The affected families belong to Luxmipur Rampurwa panchayat under Bagaha-2 block. According to officials, they were deprived of power supply due to environmental restrictions. Executive officer of the electricity department, Alok Amritanshu, said, "We have provided off-grid electricity to those areas where on-grid electricity has not been provided." A microgrid power plant was set up in the border areas of Jhandu Tola, Chakdahwa and Bin Toli. However, with the batteries of the solar panels now damaged, the villages remain without electricity. Amritanshu said a new on-grid-off-grid power station costing Rs 139 crore would soon be built, which would ensure 24-hour electricity supply to the area, including Jhandu Tola, Chakdahwa and Bin Toli. Residents expressed their frustration over years of neglect. Basant Kumar, a villager from Jhandu Tola, said, "We never saw electricity after independence. But in 2018, the government established solar panels in these villages. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Last Chance: 80% Off This Artisan's Retirement Jewelry Sale The Heritage Journal Read More Undo When the solar panels came into existence, they offered us a sense of comfort and security. This alternative was very useful for us to recharge our mobiles and help with other daily needs. But after two years, the battery failed, and again we are facing darkness in the village. Now we go to Susta village in Nepal, 1km away from our residence, to charge our mobiles." He added that when solar panels were first introduced, they became the lifeline of the region, but the lack of maintenance meant they soon failed, pushing villagers back into darkness. Some residents now use small personal solar panels to light their homes at night. In Chakdahwa, another villager, Gulab Ansari, said, "We have complained several times to the local MLA and other administrative officers to restart the solar panels, but we only received assurances from them. More than 2,000 people live their lives in shadow due to the absence of electricity in our region, which is surrounded by VTR, the Gandak river, and Nepal on one side. We face many problems due to darkness. People in our village have been cooking food in the dark for years. Those who do not have lighting arrangements cook their food before it gets dark. Not only this, but the problem increases when dangerous wild animals come to our village from the dense forest of Valmiki Tiger Reserve. That time proves to be very dangerous and scary for us." Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
