Kozhikode, July 31 (IANS) A day after the massive landslides struck Kerala’s Wayanad, desperate scenes were witnessed with the rescue teams reaching the destroyed houses and frantically searching for missing people, even as the death toll on Wednesday reached 153, with 98 still missing.

The worst affected areas include Churalpara, Velarimala, Mundakayil and Pothukalu. The locals from these areas, who managed to escape, are deeply shattered by the extent of the devastation.

The rescue teams from the Army, Air Force, Navy, NDRF, police, Fire Force and locals were engaged in the operations till late into Tuesday night and were back early on Wednesday.

The rescue teams are now trying to search the destroyed homes to look for survivors.

Anxious relatives are waiting in Mundakayil in front of some destroyed homes hoping that the rescue team will find some alive.

Rain continues to play spoilsport at the affected spots as the whole area is filled with a slurry, big and small boulders.

Meanwhile, the police have stopped people from travelling to Wayanad without a reason as most of the roads to the affected places are getting crowded hampering the movement of the rescue vehicles.

On Wednesday, the rescue teams are being reinforced with more trained people joining to speed up the rescue operations.

The NDRF and defence rescue teams had been able to transport more than 500 people holed up in certain areas of the affected spots by late Tuesday night

Bailey bridges and ropeways have been set up by the forces thereby speeding up the rescue efforts.

A team of five Kerala Ministers are staying put in Wayanad and coordinating the rescue operations.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu will introduce the Bhartiya Vayuyan Vidheyak 2024, which aims to replace the Aircraft Act of 1934, in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

According to the list of business, the Lok Sabha will see the continuation of discussion on the Demands for Grants under the control of the Ministry of Railways for 2024-25.

Discussion on Demands for Grants under the control of the Ministry of Education for 2024-25 will also be taken up in the Lower House of Parliament.

The second report of the Business Advisory Committee will be presented in the Lok Sabha.

Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Nimuben Bambhaniya will make a statement regarding the status of implementation of the recommendations contained in the 28th Report of the Standing Committee on Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution on ‘Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY)’.

She will also make a statement regarding the status of implementation of the recommendations contained in the 31st Report of the Standing Committee on Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution on ‘Coarse Grains Production and Distribution’.

In the Rajya Sabha, Home Minister Amit Shah will move a motion for election to the Committee on Official Language.

General discussion on the Union Budget and Budget of Jammu and Kashmir will continue in the Rajya Sabha.

MoS Road Transport and Highways Harsh Malhotra will make a statement in the Upper House regarding the status of implementation of recommendations contained in the 342nd Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture on Demands for Grants.

–IANS

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Patna, July 31 (IANS) A joint team of Special Task Force (STF) from West Bengal and Bihar along with local police conducted a raid and busted a mini-gun factory in Rahimpur village in Bihar’s Saran, officials said on Tuesday.

Superintendent of Police (SP), Saran, Kumar Aashish said that the team has arrested five individuals. Of them, four are natives of Bihar’s Munger.

During the raid, authorities seized a substantial cache of partially built guns, barrels, and equipment used in the manufacture of country-made pistols and “kattas” (country-made firearms).

“We have confiscated 75 partially built firearms, 15 barrels, 36 partially built barrels, 6 cutters, 14 drill machines, 2 building machines, 1 generator, 1 mobile phone, 1 lathe machine, 1 milling machine, 10 tons of iron bars, and other equipment,” the SP said.

The mini-gun factory was illegally operating in a house owned by one Akhilesh Singh. Police have arrested Singh and four others, identified as Mohammad Chand, Mohammad Parvez, Irfan, and Mohammad Parwala — all four are natives of Munger and are believed to be workers at the factory.

The team also recovered a large amount of raw materials at the factory during the raid.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) An Indian-origin woman, who has been allegedly deserted by her Pakistani husband, has sought help from the governments of both countries to get her children back.

Farzana Begum, a resident of Mumbai, said that she married Yusuf Mirza Ilahi, in Abu Dhabi in 2015, and after two to three years, he deceitfully brought her to Pakistan. However, later, he returned to Abu Dhabi with their two children.

Farzana also claimed that Yusuf had married multiple times in the past and had hidden this fact from her. She further claimed that Yusuf had deserted his previous wives and children in a similar manner.

She has now filed a plea in a Lahore court seeking justice. The plea is scheduled to be heard on August 15.

Farzana has pleaded for help from Pakistan and the Indian government to get her children back. She has urged the Indian Embassy to speak to Abu Dhabi authorities on this issue.

The victim’s Pakistani lawyer said that Farzana is the wife of a Pakistani citizen and the mother of two Pakistani children. Therefore, Farzana has the same rights in the country as any Pakistani citizen. It is the duty of the Pakistani government to help Farzana in this matter, the lawyer said.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh reached New Delhi late on Tuesday evening for a three-day state visit which is expected to further strengthen the age-old ties between the two countries.

“Warm welcome to PM Phạm Minh Chinh of Vietnam as he arrives in New Delhi on a State Visit. India and Vietnam share civilisational links and a longstanding friendship based on mutual trust. The visit will further strengthen our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X.

The Vietnamese PM is scheduled to participate in various programmes and business events on Wednesday. He will receive a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday.

On the same day, Pham Minh Chinh will visit the Raj Ghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and then hold bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will also host a luncheon in honour of the visiting delegation.

Chinh is also scheduled to call on President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar during the course of his visit.

“India considers Vietnam as a key pillar of its Act East Policy and an important partner in its Indo-Pacific vision,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday.

India-Vietnam relations have been on the upswing since the establishment of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Hanoi in 2016.

PM Modi has maintained Vietnam’s importance as an important pillar of India’s ‘Act East’ policy and the Indo-Pacific vision, while seeking to enhance the scope of the bilateral relationship – including defence partnership – besides working for expeditious progress on the existing initiatives.

–IANS

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