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Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Climate
- Hindustan Times
Uttarakhand: Schools shut in Dehradun today amid predictions of heavy rain
A holiday has been declared for all schools from classes 1 to 12 as well as all Anganwadi centers in the Dehradun district today in view of the possibility of heavy rainfall issued by the Meteorological Department. Uttarakhand: Schools shut in Dehradun today amid predictions of heavy rain(Mohan Lal/ANI) "In view of the possibility of heavy rainfall issued by the Meteorological Department, Dehradun, a holiday has been declared for all schools from classes 1 to 12 as well as all Anganwadi centers in the Dehradun district for tomorrow, Tuesday, i.e., August 12. This order will apply not only to school students but also equally to school management and staff," an official release said on Monday. Meanwhile, the Kedarnath Yatra in Uttarakhand has been temporarily halted for three days due to a red alert issued by the IMD predicting heavy rainfall in the region. The district administration has been put on high alert, and security arrangements have been made to ensure the safety of pilgrims and locals. As per the predictions by the IMD, heavy rain is expected in Rudraprayag district and the entire state on August 12, 13 and 14. "As per the predictions by the IMD, red and orange alerts have been predicted in Rudraprayag and other districts of the state. The administration has been put on alert, and security arrangements have also been made," District Magistrate Prateek Jain said in a self-made video. Jain further appealed to all locals residing near water bodies to shift to safer places, further stating that the water level of the river was being constantly monitored and weather alerts would be issued from time to time. "We are keeping a check on the rising water levels of the river here. We also appeal to residents to shift to safer places and be personnel, including the police, public work department and disaster management teams, have been asked to be on alert. We will be keeping a check on the weather, and will let the public know when the Kedarnath Yatra will resume," Jain further added. The Kedarnath temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is located at an altitude of over 11,000 feet in the Himalayas and holds immense religious significance. The Kedarnath Yatra doors for the year 2025 were opened for devotees on May 2.
Time of India
27-07-2025
- Time of India
Questions arise over ‘ineffectivecrowd control, missing cops at site'
Haridwar: The Mansa Devi temple stampede has raised several questions over failure in proper crowd control and management by Haridwar district administration and police, as per locals. Many pointed out that adequate police presence on the pedestrian route and the entrance for better crowd control could have averted the tragedy, adding that the situation was exacerbated by unauthorised structures on the route. Mohan Lal, whose six-year-old nephew Arush died in the stampede, said, "Only if there were proper arrangements on the temple route, my nephew would've been alive today. There was no police presence on the narrow route. It was overcrowded with people moving up and down at the same time, leading to the congestion. Also, no one could move forward... Even after the incident, help arrived late." People started to panic when rumours spread that the temple gates were being closed, Lal said, adding: "It was a terrible sight." Video clips of the stampede showed a huge crowd of men, women and children stuck in a narrow passage leading to the temple. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like New Retirement Villages Near Sylhe Sadar Senior Living | Search Ads Undo Dozens of people, seemingly glued to each other and hardly moving, could only manage to hold the children above their heads, news agency PTI reported. Mahendra Pratap Singh, an eyewitness who saw the stampede from a rooftop a little distance away, was quoted by PTI as saying that excess crowd was "the only factor to the tragic incident." Ajay Jaiswal, a local, was also quoted by the agency as saying that the administration should have been more alert. "Mansa Devi is the biggest centre of attraction for devotees in Haridwar after Har Ki Pauri. Thousands of devotees come here every day. The crowd swells during the month of Sawan as a rule. Being a Sunday, the possibility of a larger crowd was very much there. So, the administration should have been more alert," he said. Haridwar-based social activist JP Badoni told TOI, "This tragedy could've been averted. Local administration is solely responsible. This is not the first such tragedy in Haridwar. However, lessons from the past have clearly not been learnt. There are over 200 illegally constructed shops along the Mansa Devi pedestrian route, many of which draw electricity illegally. Despite the area being a reserved zone, the forest department never took any action. The religious trust managing the temple also never addressed the growing risks." Badoni urged immediate legal steps against those responsible. Meanwhile, assuring a comprehensive review, DM Mayur Dixit told TOI: "The temple administration has been directed to employ private security. Crowd management protocols at religious sites will undergo review." Soon after the tragedy, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami instructed disaster management secretary Vinod Kumar Suman to conduct a comprehensive assessment of crowd management, route planning and security measures across Uttarakhand's pilgrimage sites to prevent similar incidents in future.
Time of India
19-07-2025
- Time of India
RPF arrests civic workers for damaging railway internet cables in Mohali
1 2 Mohali: In a sudden turn of events, work on the alternate route to Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport came to an abrupt halt on Friday after officials from the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the railways' engineering wing intervened and arrested several workers involved in road-widening activity. The crackdown occurred near the under-construction stretch starting from near Bawa White House and running parallel to the existing airport road, where construction was reportedly 80% complete and close to inauguration. According to officials, the workers, while digging, encroached on railway land and damaged underground internet and electrical cables, causing a major disruption to railway station communication systems. The RPF arrested the JCB driver, an electrical contractor, and his workers. Additionally, a JCB machine and electrical cutting tools were impounded at the site. Inspector Mohan Lal, SHO of the Chandigarh RPF, confirmed the incident. "We received information that excavation work was being done on railway land and that underground communication lines had been breached. Upon inspection, we found that the civil contractor had damaged cables critical to railway station communication. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Why Mr. Chirag Jain never exits a trade in loss — even when he's wrong TradeWise Learn More Undo A case has been registered under Section 174(C) of the Railway Protection Act," he said. The arrested accused were later released on bail, while the machinery remains seized as case property and will be released only through court orders. Following the disruption, the railways' engineering (electrical) wing began urgent repair work on the damaged lines to restore communication services. Taking notice, Mohali deputy commissioner Komal Mittal ordered an enquiry and sought a detailed report from the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA). "This appears to be negligence on the part of the contractor, but GMADA officials were responsible for supervising the work. We've demanded a full report and will take necessary action based on its findings," Mittal stated. The project, aimed at decongesting traffic and providing a smoother alternative approach to the international airport, now faces an unexpected delay due to the enforcement action and ensuing investigation.
Indian Express
25-06-2025
- General
- Indian Express
Indian workers in Israel pick daily drill of sirens, shelters over evacuation
Having arrived in Israel to fill the construction industry void left by the Palestinian workforce after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, thousands of Indian workers have been getting accustomed to a harsh new reality: the conflict with Iran. Their daily life — working as masons, iron benders, carpenters, ceramic tilers, bakers and so on — is punctuated by frequent missile alerts on their phones and several dashes to the nearest bomb shelter, or 'miklat' as these reinforced spaces are called in Hebrew. The Indian workers appear largely undeterred by the waves of missile strikes and interceptions. Mohan Lal, who belongs to Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district and is a foreman at a workshop in Palmachim, 28 km from Tel Aviv, says there is no mad scramble to return to India through the government's evacuation plan announced on June 19. He is among an estimated 15,000 Indian workers who arrived in Israel through government and private routes following a 2023 bilateral framework agreement. 'About 350 Indian workers have left and maybe 600 more have enrolled to go back to India. Thousands others are feeling quite safe mainly due to the system of phone alerts and sirens being deployed in Israel,' says Mohan Lal, 33. He described how, in the days following the June 13 attacks by Iran, they would have to rush several times in the day and night to the shelters, but now that was needed only once or twice a day. The 'miklat' he usually uses is one of the small concrete containers built near their workshop, which can accommodate up to a dozen people. He says that he recently visited the Ramat Gan area of Tel Aviv to see the damage caused to buildings by Iranian missile strikes, but added that there were no visible signs of damage in Palmachim where he worked. In contrast to these single-room shelters, other Indian workers describe gigantic fortified public shelters which can accommodate up to 1,500 people and are located at every 500 feet in Tel Aviv. Dharamvir Singh, 43, who belongs to Jind in Haryana, has been working as a ceramic tiler in Israel since a year. He has been using one equipped with air conditioners, lounge chairs, toilets and so on. He is working on the tiling of a 27-storey building in Tel Aviv — six of its storeys are designed to serve as underground bunkers. 'More and more, bigger and bigger bomb shelters are being built everywhere in Israel,' he says. 'The difference I find from the earlier phase of attacks by Hamas and the current shower of ballistic missile attacks from Iran is that the alerts give us 20-25 minutes to reach the shelters instead of the earlier 10-15 minutes. We are getting more time to rush to safety.' Gurdeep Chouhan, also from Jind, describes a similar experience of the need for rushing to shelters coming down after a peak two weeks ago. He is working in a well-known bakery, Angel's, along with a large group of Indians in a place called Lod, 15 km from Tel Aviv. He says: 'There is less danger in small places like where we are, which are on the outskirts of the large cities like Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem. It is in the big cities that the military establishments, refineries and multi-national companies are located and they could be the target of future attacks.' Subhash Chand, a 33-year old carpenter from Punjab's Hoshiyarpur, says the threat is not from precision bombing but debris from missiles intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome. He says there was panic among their families back home in Punjab because of old videos showing extensive damage to Tel Aviv. 'I have been in Israel for over a year and we are all liking it here. There are no jobs in India. If we take up the offer of the Indian government and return home we will surely regret it,' says Subhash Chand. 'Israeli companies and supervisors respect Indian workers. We feel safe because of the system of alerts and sirens. The phone alerts tell us when to go inside a shelter and let us know when it is safe to come out and go back to our shift duty.' Most of the Indian construction workers The Indian Express spoke to reveal they were earning between `1.5 lakh-`2.5 lakh every month in Israel. 'Even a collector does not earn so much in India. We are not planning to return now and will go on leave only for Diwali as decided earlier,' says Surendra Singh Saini, a driller who arrived in Israel from Jhunjunu, Rajasthan. He says they had got used to a daily drill of missile attacks and shrieking sirens as well as the 'timeout' spent in protected spaces. 'When the missiles are intercepted, we look to the skies and hear the sounds of patakaas (fire crackers) going off. That's all,' he says. There are several Indian supervisors and managers working on large construction sites where hundreds of Indians are employed. They have taken it upon themselves to mentor and guide the workers through this dangerous phase. Dharma Kachawa from Pushkar, Rajasthan arrived in Israel seven years ago is among the Indian supervisors. He says he has a WhatsApp group of 400 Indian workers, employed with the Israeli construction giant Solel Boneh and currently working in a town called Tzur-Yigal. Kachawa, 35, says he does his best to keep Indian workers informed of any potential danger, in case they are unaware of missile attacks. 'The fact is that some ballistic missiles are going through and they do cause damage. So I keep asking each and every Indian worker about his well being. I ask them not to wait for the sirens and move towards safe shelters once the phone alerts come.' Ritu Sarin is Executive Editor (News and Investigations) at The Indian Express group. Her areas of specialisation include internal security, money laundering and corruption. Sarin is one of India's most renowned reporters and has a career in journalism of over four decades. She is a member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) since 1999 and since early 2023, a member of its Board of Directors. She has also been a founder member of the ICIJ Network Committee (INC). She has, to begin with, alone, and later led teams which have worked on ICIJ's Offshore Leaks, Swiss Leaks, the Pulitzer Prize winning Panama Papers, Paradise Papers, Implant Files, Fincen Files, Pandora Papers, the Uber Files and Deforestation Inc. She has conducted investigative journalism workshops and addressed investigative journalism conferences with a specialisation on collaborative journalism in several countries. ... Read More
