Latest news with #Response
New Indian Express
27-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Family of seven dies by suicide in car over financial woes in Haryana's Panchkula
CHANDIGARH: Seven members of a family from Dehradun, Uttarakhand found to have died by suicide in Panchakula, Haryana on Monday night. Police said financial losses may have driven them to the extreme step. Sources said the family consumed poison and died by suicide around midnight inside their car parked in Sector 27, Panchkula. The rear windows were covered with a towel, and the car was locked from inside. A passer-by, noticing the unusual window covering, looked inside, found the occupants unconscious, and alerted the police. Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) rushed to the spot and found seven family members inside the car, most of them in a semi-conscious state. They were immediately taken to a nearby hospital. The family had reportedly travelled to Panchkula to attend a Hanuman Katha event organised by Bageshwar Dham. With the event having recently concluded, they were on their way back to Dehradun when they took the extreme step. The deceased have been identified as 42-year-old Praveen Mittal, his father Deshraj Mittal and his wife, Praveen's wife, and their three children, two teenage daughters and a son. The family owned a tours and travels business that reportedly suffered heavy losses.
New Indian Express
26-05-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Intense oil spill mitigation efforts launched by Coast Guard after Liberian cargo ship sank off Kerala coast
NEW DELHI: The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has intensified surveillance and spill mitigation efforts and mobilised a specialised Pollution Response Vessel, in addition to two of its Offshore Patrol Vessels, after the environmental concerns, including the potential oil spill impact and drifting of debris and cargo emerged. The situation occurred after the Cargo Ship MV Elsa sank around 15 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala on Sunday. The ICG said on Monday that it has mobilised ICG Ship Samudra Prahari in addition to its two Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs), which remain on-site for ongoing monitoring, assessment, and pollution response. The coast guard is also using aerial sorties and specialised dispersal equipment, Ship Samudra Prahari, "a specialised Pollution Response Vessel carrying significant quantities of Oil Spill Dispersant (OSD), along with additional OPVs in PR configuration," said ICG. To ensure safety, all passing ships have been diverted, and mariners have been warned to navigate cautiously due to floating debris and potential navigation hazards. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) launched a full-scale pollution response operation following the sinking of the Liberian container vessel MV MSC ELSA 3, which went down on May 25, 2025, approximately 15 nautical miles southwest of Alappuzha, Kerala. All its 24 crew were rescued by the Coast Guard and Navy.
New York Post
19-05-2025
- New York Post
NYC's child services agency keeps cases secret due to state loophole, but investigators say it's time for a change
The Big Apple's beleaguered child service agency is able to keep its records secret because of a state loophole — but fed-up city investigators are now backing a bill that would force them to loosen their grip on their closely guarded books. Department of Investigation officials said they have been blocked from reviewing at least a dozen child neglect or abuse cases handled by the Administration for Children's Services since 2023 that raised 'red flags,' all because state law keeps the files sealed — regardless of the consequences for battered children. Most troubling are abuse claims deemed 'unfounded' by ACS with no explanation or scrutiny. 'If one of the unfounded rulings was flawed in some way, we have no insight into that whatsoever,' DOI Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber told The Post. 'We need [the state Office of Children and Family Services] to get approval, so we have to tell them what it is we want and if they ask why we want them, we have to tell them. 3 New York State Social Services Law largely shields ACS from the city's Department of Investigation. William Farrington 'That is not typically how independent oversight works,' she said. 'You don't typically want the entities that you are overseeing [to have] access into what you are investigating.' The Post reported earlier this month that at least seven children died under the lax supervision of ACS caseworkers in the past year, with staffers encouraged to keep children in potentially abusive homes and offer troubled families services rather than launching investigations that could save young lives. The tragic tots were as young as one month when they met horrific ends. Cases included several kids who starved to death inside homes where ACS either returned them to their parents or were allowed to remain despite allegations of mistreatment, the report found. 3 The Post revealed on May 5 how at least 7 children died in abusive homes while unfer ACS supervision. The soft approach by ACS is based on an initiative adopted by the agency in recent years known as CARES, or Collaborative Assessment, Response, Engagement and Support. 'There's been a lot about this program called CARES,' Strauber said, 'but as of now we don't have access. This is yet another blind spot. 'We won't be able to evaluate if that program is working the way it is supposed to work,' she added. 'Obviously there are unique interests with the privacy of families, but in our view when there's a risk to children there should be transparency and oversight. 'What we are really focused on is the systemic issues. We are not looking to re-traumatize these families.' New York State Social Services Law shields ACS from outside scrutiny — even if the agency goofed by not removing a child from an abusive home or launching an investigation into the parents. DOI officials are looking for help from Albany, and are backing a bill introduced this month by state Assemblyman Andrew Hevesy (D-Queens) that looks to remove the ACS blinders. 3 New York State Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi is sponsoring a bill to increase scrutiny of the city child services agency. Hans Pennink 'Even though child fatality cases known to ACS have declined 18% within the last decade, out of an abundance of caution this bill will provide the professionals from the NYD Department of Investigation access to confidential records to assist in their investigations,' Hevesi said. The bill would allow more scrutiny of child fatalities and incidents inside juvenile detention facilities — but it has yet to find a required sponsor in the state senate. In a statement to The Post on Monday, a spokesperson for ACS said the agency 'look[s] forward to further discussions about the bill,' and addressed the DOI push for more access. 'ACS is committed to transparency, and we appreciate the important oversight role of DOI,' they said.
The Hindu
16-05-2025
- Climate
- The Hindu
State government decides to speed up pre-monsoon arrangements
The State government has decided to complete the arrangements for the upcoming southwest monsoon season as quickly as possible. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Revenue Minister K. Rajan here on Friday. Regional level action plans will be prepared in the districts by May 20, Mr. Rajan said. Training sessions are planned for the prompt activation of the Incident Response Systems at the district and taluk levels. The meeting decided to update the lists of people inhabiting locations vulnerable to disasters. Friday's meeting also directed government departments to make sure that measures prescribed in the Orange Book of Disaster Management published by the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) have been adopted ahead of the monsoon. The updated version of this document is expected to be published by May 25. Relief camps Local bodies have been directed to publish details of the buildings identified for opening relief camps. A Tribal Hamlet Disaster Management Plan will be drafted as part of the arrangements for the monsoon season. As part of the measures, awareness programmes will be held in regions susceptible to landslips. Warnings will be displayed in tourist locations, the government said. Directions have also been issued for closely monitoring water levels in the reservoirs in the State and ensuring that shutters and spillways in dams are operational. Special district-level reviews will be held in all districts in the first weeks of June, July, August and September. These meetings will be chaired by either the Minister holding the charge of the district or the District Collector concerned. Sanitation works Local self-government institutions have been directed to launch pre-monsoon sanitation works and mosquito eradication measures. They have also been directed to ensure that drains and canals, culverts are cleared of waste and debris before the rainfall strengthens over the State. Equipment needed for rescue and relief operations will be stocked in all local bodies. The District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMA) will sanction the funds necessary for the purchasing the equipment prescribed by the KSDMA. Grama panchayats will be sanctioned ₹1 lakh, municipalities ₹ 3 lakh and Corporations ₹5 lakh.
India Gazette
14-05-2025
- Health
- India Gazette
Haryana 112 Emergency Response System enters new phase with robust reforms and technological enhancements
Chandigarh (Haryana) [India], May 14 (ANI): The Haryana 112 Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) has marked substantial progress in its emergency response efficiency, as revealed in the latest performance update for April 2025. Since its launch, the system has handled over 2.31 crore calls, with 46.60 lakh vehicles dispatched to address emergencies across the state. This was disclosed during the 13th meeting of the State Empowered Committee (SEC) 112 ERSS, chaired by Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi on Wednesday. Chief Secretary stated that the data highlights a steady rise in service usage and improved response times. In April 2025 alone, 6,06,039 calls were attended as compare to 5,35,111 calls in April 2024 and 4,68,359 in April 2022. Dispatch rates have also seen consistent growth, with 30% of attended calls resulting in vehicle deployment in April 2025, compared to 24% in 2024 and 17% in 2022. Rastogi informed that response times have shown significant reductions across various services. Police response time dropped from 12 minutes 4 seconds in April 2022 to just 7 minutes 3 seconds in April 2025. Medical emergency responses improved from 25 minutes 44 seconds in 2022 to 12 minutes 50 seconds in 2025. Fire service response time stood at 32 minutes 50 seconds in April 2025, maintaining a steady trend from previous years. In a significant milestone, the state-wide integration of the 108 emergency helpline system has been successfully completed within the designated timeline. As part of the integration process, five Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) have been deployed in each district across the state, enhancing the capacity and accessibility of emergency services. Additionally, the full-fledged integration of the 108 helpline with all 575 ambulances was successfully completed in November 2024. This seamless integration aims to provide efficient medical assistance, ensuring a quicker and more coordinated emergency response across the state, she added. Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department, Dr Sumita Misra emphasised the need for conducting mapping of hospitals in all districts across the state to ensure that road accident victims could be provided with medical assistance in minimum possible time. Dr Misra said that Haryana has launched the Trip Monitoring Service (TMS) in November 2023 to enhance women's safety during travel. This service allows women to share their live location via WhatsApp with two dedicated desks at the State Emergency Response Centre (SERC). Over 300 trips have already been successfully tracked. Additionally, the state has built a verified database of around 94,000 working women and female students, which helps ensure quick identification and response during emergencies. She further added that a database of over 87,000 registered auto-rickshaws has also been integrated into the system to improve response times during incidents involving these vehicles. Misra said that Haryana's dedicated cybercrime infrastructure was also reviewed in detail. She said that 54 Cyber Crime Reporting Terminals and 16 nodal officers from major banks have been stationed at the SERC in Panchkula. This setup has significantly sped up responses to cyber fraud cases. In 2024 alone, 7.25 lakh calls were received on the cyber helpline, with Rs. 268.40 crore successfully saved out of Rs 980 crore reported defrauded a recovery rate of 27%, more than double that of the previous year. The meeting was further informed that Haryana 112 has introduced a mechanism to block abusive callers automatically after a warning, reducing the misuse of emergency services. Repeat offenders are tracked, and after the fifth instance, an Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) is dispatched to their location. This strategy has led to a marked decline in the number of abusive calls. To enhance emergency services further, Haryana has procured 423 Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs) with SIM connectivity and mobile device management licences for better coordination in ambulances and fire vehicles. Additional network components like UPS systems, monitors, and IP phones were deployed to optimise operational efficiency within budget limits. As the current phase of Haryana 112 progresses, the SEC has approved several strategic enhancements for Phase 2. Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department, Sumita Misra informed that in a significant technology upgrade, the introduction of auto-dispatch systems powered with Artificial Intelligence (AI) will replace the manual dispatch system, aiming to reduce delays and improve response times. The Auto-Dispatch Systems will be launched in the state on a pilot basis in July 2025. (ANI)
