Cyclonic storm 'Kyarr' may unleash strong winds, heavy rains
Mumbai: The cyclonic storm "Kyarr" is likely to bring very heavy to extremely heavy rains in coastal districts of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra in the next 12 hours and also cause strong winds, the Met office said on Friday.
The warning was issued this afternoon by the Mumbai centre of the India Meteorological Department (IMD). A deep depression in the Arabian Sea intensified into cyclonic storm Kyarr during early hours of Friday.
Kyarr is very likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm during the next 12 hours and into a very severe one during the subsequent 24 hours, said an IMD official. Subsequently, the cyclonic storm will move towards the coast of Oman, the IMD predicted.
A red alert, indicating 'extremely heavy rainfall', has been issued for Sindhudurg district, which would mean precipitation of 204.5 mm rainfall in 24 hours, it said. Cyclone Kyarr would result into gale winds, reaching the speed to 85 kmph and by Saturday it would become 110 kmph, the IMD official said.
"Squally wind speed reaching 55-65 kmph gusting to 75 kmph is likely to prevail along and off Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Raigad districts of Maharashtra as well as Goa.
"Wind speed of around 40-50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph is likely to prevail along the remaining coastal districts of Maharashtra, north Karnataka coast as well as in the Arabian sea off the Gujarat coast during the next 24 hours," he said.
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Compromised PM didn't sign trade deal with US, but a bargain for Adani's release: Rahul
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of signing a trade deal with the US only to secure the "release" of billionaire businessman Gautam Adani.
"Compromised PM did not strike a trade deal, but a bargain for Adani's release," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X, after reports that the US has agreed to settle the lawsuit that accused Adani of hiding alleged bribery.
The US government has agreed to settle the lawsuit filed against Adani, who is accused of duping investors by concealing that his company's huge solar energy project in India was being facilitated by an alleged bribery scheme, according to court filings published Thursday.
Reacting to the reports, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said it was now clear why the PM agreed to the "hopelessly one-sided Indo-US trade deal that was really a steal by the US".
"And it is also clear why he abruptly halted Operation Sindoor on May 10, 2025, acting on President Trump's threats rather than on our national interest. Reportedly, the Trump Administration is about to drop all charges of corruption against Modani," he said on X.
"How much more compromised can the PM get?" Ramesh asked.
In the lawsuit filed in late 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, who is a director at the group's renewable energy unit Adani Green Energy Ltd, of agreeing to pay about USD 265 million in bribes to Indian government officials between approximately 2020 and 2024 to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contracts on terms that expected to yield USD 2 billion of profit over 20 years.
It was alleged in the lawsuit that Adani Group raised USD 2 billion in loans and bonds, including from US firms, on the backs of false and misleading statements related to the firm's anti-bribery practices and policies.
The ports-to-energy conglomerate had denied the allegations.
