Cyclone Daye weakens, dumps heavy rain in Odisha
Bhubaneswar, Sep 21: Several parts of Odisha have been experiencing heavy to very heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms under the impact of cyclonic storm Daye.
The cyclone crossed Odisha coast near Gopalpur in the early on Friday.
It has caused heavy to very heavy rainfall in Gajapati, Ganjam, Puri, Rayagada, Kalahandi, Koraput, Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts. Tribal-dominated district of Malkangiri has been the worst affected.
Several rivers in the district including Pangam, Saptadhara, Korukonda were flowing above danger-level while road communication between Malkangiri and Chhattisgarh has been disrupted, an official said.
With water crossing danger level in Balimela reservoir in Malkangiri district, four gates of the reservoir have been opened, said the official.
Reviewing the rainfall situation, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday sanctioned gratuitous relief for seven days at Rs 60 per day per adult and Rs 45 per day for children below 12 years in the Malkangiri district.
Patnaik also directed the district administration to reach out to those affected and extend all assistance to them. Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi said Malkangiri district received 166.25 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours since Thursday.
He said 150 persons were evacuated from Koteru village to safe places while steps were being taken to provide relief material to them.
Due to incessant rain in the upper catchment area, the Kolab Dam authorities in Koraput have opened two gates of the reservoir on Friday.
While the cyclonic storm has weakened into a deep depression and lay over south interior Odisha and neighbourhood, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rainfall at most places and heavy to very heavy rainfall at few places over the state.
The Met department has advised fishermen to not venture into sea along and off Odisha coast during the next 24 hours till Saturday. The state government has also instructed officials to be on the vigil to tackle any emergency situation.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) have been deployed in different districts.
One NDRF team each has been deployed in Kalahandi, Rayagada, Gajapati, Puri, Nayagarh and Kandhamal districts with a total 17 boats and other emergency equipment.
One ODRAF team each has been deployed in Ganjam, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Malkangiri districts. Fire service units in the respective districts were deployed for search and rescue work wherever required.
The holiday of all government offices has been cancelled in the affected districts.
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Bypolls: K'taka Cong Minority Abdul Jabbar chief resigns amid allegations of 'internal conspiracy'
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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Congress Minority Department President K Abdul Jabbar announced his resignation from the post on Saturday, a day after a group of Muslim leaders accused members of their own party of "conspiring" to defeat the official candidate in Davanagere South.
Jabbar, an MLC, was an aspirant for the Congress ticket from the Davanagere South Assembly segment.
"It has been an honor for me to serve as Chairman of the KPCC Minority department and have worked to the best of my ability during assembly elections 2023 and followed by Parliament polls and many such occasions whenever the party needed the minority department and showed results. I have toured the entire state of Karnataka and worked to align the minorities with Congress values and principles. Most of it is available in the public domain," Jabbar has said in a letter to the party.
"Minority voters and minority office bearers are the backbone of our great Congress party and certainly deserve better," he said.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President, confirmed Jabbar's resignation.
"I won't speak about this now, I have got some reports. The Minority President has submitted his resignation. I will verify things, I will seek a report from local leaders after that I will speak," he told reporters in response to a question on internal conspiracy.
A rift within the Karnataka Congress surfaced on Friday, a day after the bypolls to two Assembly constituencies in the state, as a group of Muslim leaders alleged a "conspiracy" by some of their own senior party leaders to defeat the official candidate in Davanagere South.
However, they asserted that despite efforts by some within to project that Congress "betrayed" Muslims, the party candidate Samarth Mallikarjun will win in Davanagere South, the constituency where the community has a significant presence.
They said the party finally named Samarth Mallikarjun as the candidate after considering all factors and taking all Muslim leaders into confidence. Despite this, a massive campaign, including from some within the party, projected the Congress as having "betrayed" the minorities by denying them tickets.
Chief Whip in the Legislative Council Saleem Ahmed, MLAs Rizwan Arshad, Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, MLC Bilkis Bano, and other Congress leaders addressed a joint press conference on Friday, claiming an "internal conspiracy".
According to party sources, these Muslim leaders have also complained to AICC and state party leadership, alleging "internal sabotage" in Davanagere South.
Though the leaders did not name anyone, several party sources said their attack was directed at State Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan and Jabbar among others.
Khan, who had openly demanded the Davanagere South ticket for a Muslim candidate, initially stayed away from campaigning in the constituency, citing his Kerala poll responsibilities.
However, he addressed a press meet with Samarth's father and Minister SS Mallikarjun at the request of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Jabbar too had not actively participated in the campaigning, despite hailing from Davanagere.
Bypolls for Davanagere South were held along with Bagalkot on Thursday. The election was necessitated following the death of sitting MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti respectively. Samarth is the grandson of Shivashankarappa.
Muslim disgruntlement appears to be a concern for the Congress in Davanagere South. With 14 of the 25 candidates in the fray belonging to the community, there are apprehensions within the party about a split in votes, which could benefit the BJP.
Given its significant presence in the constituency, the Muslim community strongly demanded the Congress ticket for Davanagere South. Some party factions had opposed giving the ticket to the Shamanur family.
Although the Congress was successful in persuading rebel candidate Sadiq Pailwan to withdraw from the contest, he remained in the fray as the move came after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations.
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