Hundreds sleeping in their homes in Kerala's Wayanad were awakened by a rumble on the night of 30 July. What came next were devastating landslides. From ground zero, ThePrint pieces together events of that night with eyewitness accounts, expert views and data.
Wading through knee-deep mud, volunteers from almost all active political parties, along with Army, fire dept, police & NDRF work to get Mundakkai & Chooralmala towns back on their feet.
In a khazan system, an outer embankment guards against tidal flows, while a wooden sluice gate regulates water levels, and a natural depression or ‘poim’ serves as a reservoir for excess water.
Day after mudslide, Centre issued 6th draft notification for declaring 56,800 kilometres of Western Ghats, including 13 villages in Wayanad, an ecologically sensitive area.
In relief camps, teams of counsellors are providing mental health support to those grieving loss of family and friends. They're also reaching out to survivors living in relatives’ homes.
Relief teams carrying out search operations along with dog squad. The relief columns of Indian Army are also present at the spot and all activities are coordinated by North Kerala IGP.
Landslides in Wayanad have claimed over 300 lives. It's a wake-up call to address rapid tourism development, unchecked urbanisation, and illegal quarrying and mining in Kerala.
Families sheltering in a school in Meppadi panchayat area say most of them survived because they paid heed to officials who were constantly urging them to leave, but many stayed back.
Personnel from the army, NDRF, DSG, Coast Guard, Navy, and MEG along with forest officials and locals will conduct operations in six zones. Additional focus will be on the Chaliyar River.
For an industry globally classified as hazardous, protections such as health insurance and a provident fund for workers are necessities. In Sivakasi, they remain elusive.
The industry forecasts exports are set to grow 16% in 2025-26, boosted by surplus domestic production and a drive to push into 26 underserved global markets with strong potential.
Indigenisation level will progressively increase up to 60 percent with key sub-assemblies, electronics and mechanical parts being manufactured locally.
It is a brilliant, reasonably priced, and mostly homemade aircraft with a stellar safety record; only two crashes in 24 years since its first flight. But its crash is a moment of introspection.
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