Rescue efforts intensify for trapped workers in Uttarkashi's Silkyara tunnel

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) announced on Sunday that efforts are underway to recover the damaged auger machine components and initiate manual digging, along with the commencement of vertical drilling, to rescue 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi for the past 14 days.

Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain, a member of the NDMA, said, according to PTI, that various strategies are being implemented to rescue the workers. The second-best option, vertical drilling, began around noon, with 15 meters already completed. Hasnain explained that after reaching 86 meters in vertical drilling, the tunnel crust would need to be broken to extract the trapped workers.

Highlighting ongoing efforts, Hasnain mentioned that six rescue plans are in progress, with horizontal drilling being the most promising, having completed 47 meters. Machines for perpendicular drilling are anticipated to arrive at the site during the night.

Simultaneously, the recovery of the damaged auger machine parts, obstructed during horizontal drilling, is in progress using magna and plasma cutters. Once retrieved, a 15-meter manual digging process will commence to reach the trapped workers, acknowledging that it may take time.

Hasnain emphasised the collaborative efforts of all concerned agencies for the success of the rescue operation.

A plasma cutter from Hyderabad was flown in on Sunday to remove the obstructed parts of the auger machine within the Silkyara tunnel rubble.

Complete disengagement of the machine is essential to resume the rescue work, involving manually pushing pipes through rubble to create an escape passage.

Additionally, a unit of Madras Sappers, an engineer group from the Indian Army’s Corps of Engineers, has arrived to assist in the rescue operations.

The auger machine, drilling through the collapsed tunnel rubble, faced complications on Friday night when its blades got stuck, prompting officials to explore alternative options that could extend the rescue operation duration significantly.

On the 14th day of rescue mission, focus shifted to two alternatives: manual drilling through the remaining 10- or 12-meter stretch of rubble or, more likely, drilling down 86 meters from above.

With inpurts from PTI

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/h3lCbJm

Centre urges states to review preparedness amid pneumonia outbreak in China

The Union Health Ministry has recommended that states promptly assess their public health preparedness in response to recent reports highlighting a rise in respiratory illnesses among children in northern China.

“This is noted to be important in view of the ongoing influenza and winter season that results in an increase in respiratory illness cases. The Government of India is closely monitoring the situation and indicated that there is no need for any alarm,” it said.

In a letter to all states and Union territories, the Union health secretary urged an immediate review of public health and hospital preparedness.

Union Health Ministry decides to proactively review preparedness measures against respiratory illnesses in view of emerging public health situation in China. Advises States/UTs to immediately review public health and hospital preparedness measures. All States/UTs to implement… pic.twitter.com/Q6RNymrmfS

— ANI (@ANI) November 26, 2023

This includes evaluating the availability of beds, drugs, influenza vaccines, medical oxygen, antibiotics, personal protective equipment, testing kits, reagents, functionality of oxygen plants and ventilators, and adherence to infection control practices.

States have been advised to implement the Operational Guidelines for Revised Surveillance Strategy in the context of COVID-19, shared earlier in the year.

These guidelines encompass integrated surveillance of respiratory pathogens presenting as cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI).

District and state surveillance units of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) are instructed to closely monitor trends of ILI and SARI, especially among children and adolescents, with data required to be uploaded on the IDSP-IHIP portal.

Additionally, state authorities are directed to send nasal and throat swab samples of SARI patients, particularly children and adolescents, to Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratories for testing respiratory pathogens.

The state authorities have been asked to send nasal and throat swab samples of patients with SARI, particularly children and adolescents, to the Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratories for testing for respiratory pathogens.

Recent information from the World Health Organization (WHO) has pointed to an increase in respiratory illnesses in northern China, primarily attributed to typical causes such as influenza, mycoplasma pneumonia, and SARS-CoV-2.

According to the WHO, the release of COVID-19 restrictions coinciding with the onset of winter season in addition to cyclical trend of respiratory illnesses such as mycoplasma pneumonia have led to this surge.

While the WHO has sought additional information from the Chinese authorities, it is assessed that there is no cause for any alarm at the moment, the ministry said.

With inputs from PTI

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/uYQUdSV

'Every day, we hear 2 more hours': Anxiety grips J'khand village as tunnel rescue delays

With three residents of this village on the outskirts of Ranchi still trapped in the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand, where rescue efforts have encountered yet another obstacle, the anxiety in Khirabeda has now reached a breaking point.

The auger machine’s blades, which were intended to cut through the tunnel’s rubble, became lodged in the debris on Saturday. This forced officials to contemplate other options that might delay the rescue of the 41 trapped workers for several days or even weeks.

Despite being confined to his bed, the desperation on the face of 55-year-old Shravan Bediya, whose only son Rajendra is trapped there, has been palpable since the news reached him.

Besides 22-year-old Rajendra, two others from the village — Sukhram and Anil, both in their early twenties, are trapped inside the tunnel for two weeks now.

Sukhram’s mother Parvati, who is also paralysed, has been inconsolable since she found out about the disaster that happened in Uttarkashi.

In Anil’s house, his grieving mother has not cooked anything for the last two weeks. The family has been surviving on whatever food their neigbours are providing.

The rescue effort began November 12 when a portion of the under-construction tunnel on Uttarakhand’s Char Dham route collapsed following a landslide, cutting off the exit for the workers inside.

Anil’s brother Sunil who rushed to the spot from Ranchi told.

(with inputs from agencies)

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/WGwldzS

Nijjar killing: India was convicted before even probe began, says Indian envoy to Canada

The Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma told Canadian broadcaster CTV that India was “convicted” even before the investigation into the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Khalistani terrorist who was murdered by unknown miscreants in Canada’s Surrey. Canada has accused India of playing a role in the death of Nijjar, an allegation India has denied.

The Indian envoy also said that New Delhi would look into anything “very specific and relevant” communicated to them to back up Justin Trudeau’s allegations. He urged Canada to release evidence to back up its allegation in connection with the killing.

In an interview with CTV news channel, the high commissioner was asked about the allegations raised by Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau of possible Indian government involvement in Nijjar’s killing.

Responding to this, Verma said, “There are two points on that. One is that, even without the investigation being concluded, India was convicted. Is that a rule of law?

“On being asked “how was India convicted”, the high commissioner said, “Because India was asked to cooperate and if you look at the typical criminal terminology, when someone asks to cooperate, it means you have already been convicted and you better cooperate”.

“So, we took it in a very different interpretation. But, we have always said that if there is anything very specific and relevant, and communicated to us. We will look into it,” the Indian envoy added.

Ties between India and Canada have been strained after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made allegations of Indian involvement in the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil earlier this year. Nijjar was shot dead outside Gurdwara in Canada’s Surrey on June 18.

India had rejected the allegations and called them “absurd and motivated” and expelled a Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move after Ottawa asked a senior Indian diplomat to leave. Notably, Canada has not been able to present any evidence to back its claims over the killing, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.

Earlier this week, India resumed the electronic visa services for eligible Canadian citizens with effect from November 22, 2023. This came after India decided to resume visa services in Canada for four categories after a considered review of the security situation last month.I

In October, Canada pulled out 41 diplomats from India and also halted its visa and consular services in Chandigarh, Mumbai, and Bengaluru consulates in the wake of the Union government’s decision to strip them of their immunity. This came after New Delhi conveyed its concerns to Ottawa over the disproportionate number of diplomats in India and sought a ‘parity’ in diplomatic strength.

With inputs from ANI.

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/NubSXk0

Aditya L1 Mission: Spacecraft is nearing its final phase, says ISRO chief

Aditya L1 spacecraft is nearing its final phase, and manoeuvres to enter the L1 point are expected to be completed by January 7, 2024, according to ISRO Chairman S Somanath.

“Aditya is on the way. I think it has reached almost its final phase,” the ISRO chief told PTI on the sidelines of an event organised at VSSC to commemorate the 60th year of the First Sounding Rocket Launch.

Aditya L1, India’s first space-based mission to study the Sun, was successfully launched on September 2 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. The spacecraft, after travelling about 1.5 million km from Earth over 125 days, is expected to be placed in a Halo orbit around the Lagrangian point L1, considered closest to the Sun.

He said that the last preparations for the spacecraft’s entry into the L1 point are currently underway incrementally.”Possibly by January 7th, the final manoeuvres will be done for entering into the L1 point,” Somanath added.

Among other tasks, it will capture and transmit pictures of the Sun for scientific experiments.

What is the Aditya-L1 mission?

The Aditya-L1 is an ‘observatory’ or spacecraft that will monitor the Sun 24×7. This will be the first time that India will put a spacecraft on a Lagrange point – a position in space where, as per NASA, “the gravitational forces of a two-body system like the Sun and Earth produce enhanced regions of attraction and repulsion”.

There are five Lagrange points in the Sun-Earth system; India’s solar mission will be placed in a halo orbit around Lagrange point 1, or L1, which is about 1.5 million km from the Earth, according to ISRO.

L1, Aditya’s parking spot, has been housing Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, a project by America’s NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) since 1996, reported Space.com.

The Aditya-L1 mission will carry seven payloads, out of which four will directly observe the Sun. These seven payloads or scientific instruments include Visible Emission Line Coronagraph(VELC), Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT), Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS), High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS), Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX), Plasma Analyser Package For Aditya (PAPA) and Advanced Tri-axial High Resolution Digital Magnetometers.

These instruments will study the photosphere or the Sun’s visible surface; the layer above the photosphere known as the chromosphere; and the corona – the outermost part of the Sun’s atmosphere.

Objectives of Aditya-L1 mission

As per ISRO, the spacecraft will examine the dynamics of the chromosphere and corona; in-situ particle and plasma environment; the heating mechanism of the corona; magnetic field topology and magnetic field measurements in corona; temperature, velocity and density of coronal and coronal loops plasma; and development, dynamics and origin of coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

It will also study chromospheric and coronal heating, space weather, the physics of the partially ionized plasma, what leads to solar eruptive events, and how CMEs and solar flares start.

Why is studying the Sun important?

Before that, here are some facts about the centre of our solar system. The Sun, which sustains most life on Earth, is a 4.5 billion-year-old star. Located 150 million kilometres away from the Earth, the Sun’s gravity holds the solar system together. Unlike Earth, the Sun’s surface is not solid but made of “super-hot, electrically charged gas called plasma”, noted NASA.

According to the US Space Agency, “The Sun’s activity, from its powerful eruptions to the steady stream of charged particles it sends out, influences the nature of space throughout the solar system.”

The solar activity constitutes solar flares, CMEs or huge plasma clouds, high-speed solar wind, and solar energetic particles.

With inputs from agencies.

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/hjGg0mk

Uttarakhand Silkyara Tunnel Rescue: Option of manual drilling being considered, 'no timeline yet'

Uttarakhand Silkyara Tunnel Rescue: Efforts to rescue the trapped workers continued as the drilling machine faced another setback late on Friday night. The ongoing rescue operations for the 41 workers stuck in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi district reached the fourteenth day on Saturday.

Officials said that manual drilling would commence soon to cut through the debris separating rescuers from the trapped workers in the collapsed portion of the tunnel. Once the US-made, heavy-duty Auger drilling machine is removed from the pipeline designated for bringing out the trapped workers, manual drillers will initiate their work, he said.

The workers have been trapped since Nov. 12, when a landslide in mountainous Uttarakhand state caused a portion of the 4.5-kilometer (2.8-mile) tunnel they were building to collapse about 200 meters (650 feet) from the entrance.

Success could soon be achieved in taking the Auger driller out of the pipeline, officials informed further, adding that the heavy-duty drillers could now be moved back by 22 metres.

Speaking to ANI, a senior official involved with the rescue operation said manual drilling could start soon. He added that the remaining debris, extending approximately up to 6 to 9 metres, which stands between the rescuers and the trapped workers, will be removed through manual drilling.

Elaborating on the reasons why the officials involved in the rescue operation have decided to remove the Auger from the pipeline, the senior official told ANI, “While drilling with the US-made Auger machine, if we hit an obstruction every two to three feet, we have to remove it. And, every time we hit an obstruction, we have to roll Auger back 50 metres (up to which the pipeline has been laid). After running repairs, the machine has to be pushed back up to 50 metres, which takes about 5 to 7 hours. This is the reason why the rescue operation is taking longer than it should.”

“The rescue team has now decided that the pipeline will be extended further through manual drilling over small distances. Even if we hit an obstruction further up, the issue could be resolved manually and the pipeline could be extended further without losing out on precious time,” the official added.

He informed further that after drilling up to a further 5 metres, the rescuers will reach the final few metres that separate them from the trapped workers.

Authorities have been supplying the trapped workers with hot meals made of rice and lentils through a 6-inch (15-centimetre) pipe, after days in which they survived on dry food sent through a narrower pipe. Oxygen is being supplied through a separate pipe.

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/eCBTtxo

Rajasthan elections: Polling begins in 199 out of 200 constituencies

Polling started Saturday morning for the 199 assembly seats in Rajasthan. The BJP is making significant efforts to wrest power while the Congress aims to overcome the state’s historical trend of anti-incumbency.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot (Sardarpura), former chief minister Vasundhara Raje (Jhalrapatan), former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot (Tonk), state PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra (Lachhmangarh), RLP convenor Hanuman Beniwal (Khinvsar) are some of the key faces among the 1,862 candidates in the fray.

“This is a festival of democracy. We all have cast votes for BJP for freedom from corruption, increasing crime, increasing incidents of rape and appeasement in Rajasthan. Congress government will never come to power in the state in future because people of the state have suffered a lot in the last five years…BJP will definitely get more than 150 seats…” Union Minister Kailash Choudhary said after casting his vote.

#WATCH | Union Minister Kailash Choudhary says, “This is a festival of democracy. We all have cast votes for BJP for freedom from corruption, increasing crime, increasing incidents of rape and appeasement in Rajasthan. Congress government will never come to power in the state in… https://t.co/JmYUcqjX3H pic.twitter.com/Vfa1yrviFr

— ANI (@ANI) November 25, 2023

“Polling began at 7 am today. A total of 51,507 polling booths have been set up across the state,” Rajasthan’s chief electoral officer Praveen Gupta said. Union Minister of State Kailash Chaudhary was among the first to cast his vote, exercising his franchise in Balotra.

#WATCH | Rajasthan Elections | BJP MP and candidate from Jhotwara Assembly constituency, Rajyavardhan Rathore says, “I urge all voters to celebrate this once-in-5-years festival with great fervour. Exercise your right to vote. This festival decides your future. This decides your… pic.twitter.com/vrtdmPQgWL

— ANI (@ANI) November 25, 2023

More than 1.70 lakh security personnel have been deployed across the state. 70,000 Rajasthan Police personnel, 18,000 Rajasthan Home Guards, 2,000 Rajasthan Border Home Guards, 15,000 Home Guards of other states (Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh), 120 RAC Companies have been deployed for the day.

#WATCH | Rajasthan: Preparation, mock poll underway as voting for #RajasthanElection2023 will begin at 7am today

(Visuals from a polling booth in Jaipur) pic.twitter.com/NDNG8MEqQn

— ANI (@ANI) November 25, 2023

Rajasthan has a total of 200 assembly seats but polling will be held on 199 seats as the election in the Karanpur seat of Sriganganagar district was postponed following the death of Congress candidate Gurmeet Singh Koonar. There are 5,25,38,105 voters in the 199 assembly constituencies.

राजस्थान विधानसभा चुनाव के लिए आज वोट डाले जाएंगे। सभी मतदाताओं से मेरा निवेदन है कि वे अधिक से अधिक संख्या में अपने मताधिकार का प्रयोग कर वोटिंग का नया रिकॉर्ड बनाएं। इस अवसर पर पहली बार वोट देने जा रहे राज्य के सभी युवा साथियों को मेरी ढेरों शुभकामनाएं।

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 25, 2023

While the ruling Congress is hoping that it will retain its government in Rajasthan, opposition party BJP is eyeing a return in the state ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year.
The results of the polls will be declared on December 3.

Gehlot who is in his third term as chief minister is contesting from Sardarpura, a seat he has been representing since 1998. The chief minister is up against BJP’s Mahendra Singh Rathore, former chairman of the Jodhpur Development Authority.

In Tonk, which has a sizable Muslim population, Congress party’s former state chief Sachin Pilot will face BJP’s Ajit Singh Mehta, who represented the seat in 2013.
This is the second assembly election for Pilot, who has previously won Lok Sabha polls from Dausa and Ajmer.

Former chief minister Vasundhara Raje is contesting from Jhalrapatan constituency, which she currently represents with Congress’ Ram Lal Chauhan pitted against her. She has been the chief minister for two terms.

Jat leader Hanuman Beniwal, who founded the Rastriya Loktantrik Party, could be a concern for both the BJP and Congress in Khinvsar.
Several leaders of the BJP and Congress have rebelled against their parties after being denied a ticket

Chief BJP rebels include former assembly speaker Kailash Meghwal, Chandrabhan Akya from Chittorgarh and former transport minister Yoonus Khan from Deedwana.

In Congress, main rebel candidates include Joharilal Meena from Rajgarh-Laxmangarh, Gopal Baheti in Pushkar, Habiburrahman from Nagaur, Virendra Beniwal in Lunkaransar, Khiladi Lal Bairwa in Baseri, and Dr. Param Navdeep Singh in Sangaria.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are also contesting the assembly polls in the state.

With inputs from PTI.

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/f2Vb5Oc