New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) The Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi will visit Wayanad on Thursday, to take first-hand account of the devastation caused by landslides in many regions of the district.

During their visit, the duo will meet some displaced families, taking refuge in relief camps in Meppadi after the catastrophic landslides turned the region into ruins.

The death toll due to the deadly landslides in Wayanad has touched the 200 mark and is likely to increase further as many are still feared trapped in the debris of the catastrophic landslides and 200 people are reported missing.

As per the itinerary, MP Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi will visit three relief camps operating at Government Higher Secondary School, St Joseph’s UP School, Dr Moopen’s Medical College in Wayanad’s Meppadi on Thursday.

During the meet, they are expected to express solidarity with affected families and also give assurances to them on all possible assistance.

As the devastating landslides hit Wayanad on July 30, MP Rahul Gandhi exhorted the United Democratic Front (UDF) workers to extend all possible assistance to the people, affected or trapped by it.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi also took to X and said, “Our hearts are with you at this tragic hour and we are praying for you all.”

MP Rahul Gandhi, having represented Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in the 17th Lok Sabha, said that he has spoken to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Wayanad District Collector, who in turn assured him of all possible assistance to the victims.

Notably, the two senior Congress leaders were scheduled to visit Wayanad on Wednesday morning but their schedule was changed because of adverse weather conditions and incessant rains.

LoP Rahul Gandhi also raised the issue of Wayanad landslides in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday and demanded enhanced compensation from the Centre for the victims.

He called for treating the restoration of communication lines and transport connectivity as of utmost importance and called for fast relief and rehabilitation of the displaced population.

Rahul Gandhi also raised the pressing issue of mapping the landslide-prone areas to prepare a bulwark against such calamities.

“The country has witnessed an alarming rise in landslides in the last few years. There is an urgent need for the mapping of landslide-prone areas and to take up mitigation measures and an action plan to address the growing frequency of natural calamities in the ecologically fragile regions,” LoP Rahul Gandhi said.

The worst affected areas in the Wayanad landslides include Churalpara, Velarimala, Mundakayil and Pothukalu.

Rahul Gandhi served the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency as its MP in the previous term. This time, he was re-elected from the constituency but he chose Rae Bareli over Wayanad.

Priyanka Gandhi is slated to contest polls from the constituency, whenever elections happen.

–IANS

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Mumbai, July 31 (IANS) Taking serious cognisance of the complaints against 2023 Maharashtra cadre probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, the UPSC carried out an unprecedented scrutiny of the number of attempts availed by over 15,000 IAS candidates for 15 years, as per an official statement.

After a thorough examination of the Civil Service Examinations (CSE) from 2009 to 2023 for over 15,000 finally recommended candidates, it has emerged that only Puja Khedkar flouted the rules.

Accordingly, the UPSC on Wednesday cancelled her provisional candidature for CSE-2022, and permanently debarred her from all future exams/selections.

“After this detailed exercise, barring the case of Puja Khedkar, no other candidate was found to have availed more number of attempts than permitted under the CSE Rules,” said the UPSC.

In the lone case of Puja Khedkar, the UPSC admitted that its Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) “could not detect her number of attempts primarily because she changed not only her name but also her parents’ names”.

The UPSC said it is now in the process of further strengthening its SOPs to plug any possible loopholes to ensure that such a case does not recur in the future.

Regarding the complaints pertaining to the submission of false certificates (specifically OBC and PwBD categories), the UPSC said that “it only does a preliminary scrutiny of the certificates, viz. whether the certificate has been issued by the competent authority, the issuing year, date, whether there is any overwriting on the certificate, its format, etc.”

“Generally, the certificate is taken as genuine if it has been issued by the competent authority. The UPSC neither has the mandate nor the wherewithal to check the veracity of thousands of certificates submitted by the candidates every year.

“However, it is understood that scrutiny and verification of genuineness of certificates is carried out by the authorities mandated with the task,” the UPSC said.

The UPSC, Central government, Maharashtra government, and the police are conducting separate probes against Puja Khedkar, while the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie recently removed her from field training as a trainee IAS officer in Pune and Washim districts.

–IANS

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Hyderabad, July 31 (IANS) Jishnu Dev Varma, a former Deputy Chief Minister of Tripura, took oath as the new Governor of Telangana on Wednesday.

Chief Justice of Telangana High Court, Justice Alok Aradhe administered the oath of office to the Governor at a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, ministers and top officials attended the programme.

Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari read out the warrant of appointment issued by the President of India appointing Varma as the Governor of Telangana.

Union Minister for Coal and Mines, G. Kishan Reddy, leaders of BJP, Congress and BRS were present.

Earlier, the Chief Minister received Varma at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.

He also received a Guard of Honour by the armed police personnel.

Varma, who was appointed as the Governor on July 27, succeeds CP Radhakrishnan, who was appointed the new Governor of Maharashtra.

Radhakrishnan had been holding additional charge of Telangana along with Jharkhand since March.

Radhakrishnan was also discharging functions of Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.

Radhakrishnan was given additional charge of Telangana and Puducherry after the resignation of Tamilisai Soundararajan to contest the Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu.

Jishnu Dev Varma, 67, is the fourth Governor of Telangana.

Interestingly all three Governors of Telangana since the state’s formation in 2014, were from Tamil Nadu.

ESL Narasimhan, Tamilisai Soundararajan and Radhakrishnan all were from Tamil Nadu.

Varma, who joined the BJP from the Congress in 1993, served as the Deputy CM of Tripura from 2018 to 2023.

He also held the responsibilities of Power, Rural Development, Panchayat Raj, Finance, Planning, Science and Technology and Environment ministries.

He lost the Assembly election in 2023 from Charilam in Sepahijala District.

–IANS

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Srinagar, July 31 (IANS) J&K Lt Governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha on Wednesday addressed the Certificate Award Ceremony marking the recognition of Srinagar as a ‘World Craft City’ by the World Crafts Council (WCC).

Srinagar is the 4th city in India to receive the prestigious title of ‘World Craft City’. The Certificate Award Ceremony was attended by World Crafts Council President Sa’ad Hani Al-Qaddumi and other prominent personalities of the Council.

L-G congratulated the people, artisans, craftspeople and all stakeholder departments on the momentous occasion.

“Truly delighted to see Srinagar being awarded the certificate of ‘World Craft City’ by World Crafts Council (WCC). It’s a great honour for the ancient city known for its priceless cultural and artistic heritage. It will go a long way to preserve and promote J&K’s crafts and craftsmanship,” he said.

He appreciated the World Crafts Council for its endeavours to inspire and promote the artistic traditions of the cities across the world.

“J&K is proud to have an inclusive cultural ecosystem, which always inspired the weavers and craftspeople. I believe in honouring the Srinagar city, the World Crafts Council has also honoured the 5000-year rich Indian civilisation which kept alive creative traditions and always promoted gifted artisans for their ingenuity and craftsmanship,” he observed.

He said that he wanted to see Jammu and Srinagar becoming the best art cities of India and also highlighted the efforts of the UT Administration to preserve and promote the unique cultural and artistic heritage of Jammu Kashmir and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities to the artisans and craftspeople of J&K.

“Jammu Kashmir is known as a Crown Jewel of India not only because of its geographical position but also because of its quest for spiritual wisdom and its ageless Indian cultural assets, which can be witnessed in the infinite variety of creative products,” he said.

He said that the administration is giving greater attention to the training of a young generation of craftspeople so they can be part of this traditional occupation.

“I am sure the recognition of Srinagar now as ‘World Craft City’ will not only provide a new identity to Srinagar in the global market but craftsmanship will re-establish its position as a prestigious occupation,” the L-G said.

Sa’ad Hani Al-Qaddumi, President of World Crafts Council International, congratulated the J&K administration on the recognition of Srinagar as a ‘World Craft City’.

“Srinagar has joined the well-deserved ranks amongst the craft cities across the world,” he said.

On the occasion, the L-G also released a publication depicting the 60-year journey of the World Crafts Council.

–IANS

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Thiruvananthapuram, July 31 (IANS) Hours after Union Home Minister Amit Shah told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that the Centre had alerted the Kerala government on July 23, warning of possible danger in and around Wayanad, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan refuted the claim but sought to play down the issue, saying it was no time for a blame game.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the disaster has reached 205 and around 200 continue to be missing, even as search efforts continue amid the heavy rains in the affected areas on Wednesday evening.

Speaking to the media here, Vijayan stressed that the need of the hour is not to engage in a blame game, while terming parts of what the Union Home Minister said as true and parts as untrue.

“I do not wish to engage in a blame game now as the people in Wayanad are going through untold misery on account of the massive landslide, but the fact of the matter is that there were predictions that came out and they never mentioned a red alert in the affected area. In fact, the red alert came on Tuesday at 6 a.m., when the tragedy occurred several hours before,” he said.

“The IMD had predicted rains to the tune of 115 mm to 204 mm rains at the affected areas, but actually in the first 24 hours, there was 200 mm and in the next 24 hours, 372 mm rains came down making it a staggering 572 mm in 48 hours, much more than predicted. So with these being the facts, I wish to state, that this is not the time for wrangling,” Vijayan added.

The Chief Minister also said that there was no prediction of landslides from the Geological Survey of India and when these came, the tragedy had already taken place.

“Then there was an alert from the Central Water Commission and it said that from July 23 to 29, not for one single day … of the two rivers which got swollen, there was no mention at all. What was said in the Parliament is not true,” he said, adding that there was a mention that the NDRF was sent early, “but the fact is we asked for it”.

“The need of the hour is climate change disasters have to be dealt with seriously and let us not engage in a blame game… people are in tragedy, let us soothe them,” he said.

Vijayan said about 1,200 rescue officials from various agencies are presently at work in the four worst-affected landslide areas of Wayanad district — Churalpara, Velarimala, Mundakayil, and Pothukalu.

“These areas, for all practical purposes, have been completely destroyed. The rescue teams have so far rescued 1,592 people and now there are 8,017 people in 82 relief camps. 201 people were treated in hospitals and now there are 90 under treatment. The rescue efforts are continuing and tribal families are being moved… for those not willing to move, food will be given. Medical facilities are being extended in a big way, with medical professionals from the private and cooperative sectors having joined the state government health officials,” he said.

Vijayan said in most of the affected areas, the electric power lines have been restored and the state electricity board has suffered a loss of Rs 3 crore.

–IANS

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