Flood situation remains grim in Assam; heavy rainfall predicted
Guwahati (PTI): The flood condition in Assam remained critical on Wednesday morning following overnight rainfall at several places with over 34,000 people reeling under the deluge across nine districts of the state, an official said.
The Bhutan Government and the India Meteorological Department have predicted heavy to extremely heavy rainfall over the next few days in the upper catchment areas, which may result in rising water levels in the Brahmaputra and its tributaries.
The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said that the Royal Government of Bhutan has issued a weather advisory stating that cloudy weather with light to moderate rainfall may occur in isolated areas of the country in the next 2-3 days, potentially leading to rising water levels in the Brahmaputra and its tributaries.
The agency further said that due to continuous rainfall in both the upper catchment areas of Bhutan and Assam along with release of water from the Kurichhu Dam in the neighbouring country has led to rising water levels and floods in the western part of the state.
The India Meteorological Department also issued a 'Red Alert' and predicted 'very heavy' to 'extremely heavy' rainfall across several districts of Assam over the next few days.
IMD's Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Guwahati has issued a 'Red Alert' for 24 hours from Tuesday, followed by an 'Orange Alert' for Wednesday and a 'Yellow Alert' for Thursday.
'Red Alert' signifies taking immediate action, while 'Orange Alert' implies to be prepared for action and 'Yellow Alert' stands for watch and be updated.
According to the daily flood report of the ASDMA, nearly 34,100 people are hit due to floods in Baksa, Barpeta, Darrang, Dibrugarh, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Nalbari, Sonitpur and Udalguri districts.
Lakhimpur is the worst hit with over 22,000 people affected, followed by Dibrugarh with almost 3,900 people and Kokrajhar with more than 2,700 persons, it added.
The administration has been operating one relief camp in Kokrajhar, where 56 persons have taken shelter, and running 24 relief distribution centres in four districts.
At present, 523 villages are under water and 5,842.78 hectares of crop areas have been damaged across Assam, ASDMA said.
Massive erosions have been witnessed in Barpeta, Sonitpur, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Kamrup, Morigaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar and Udalguri, ASDMA said.
Places in Cachar, Dima Hasao and Karimganj have reported incidents of landslides due to heavy rainfall.
Embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure have been damaged by flood waters in Udalguri, Sonitpur, Darrang, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Dhubri, Goalpara, Kamrup, Karimganj, Kokrajhar, Nagaon, Nalbari and Barpeta.
Urban areas were inundated with many places across Darrang, Jorhat, Kamrup Metropolitan, Kokrajhar and Nalbari districts.
No river is at present flowing above the danger mark.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Ordinance issued to increase number of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38
New Delhi (PTI): The government has promulgated an ordinance to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from the present 34 judges to 38, including the Chief Justice of India.
The law ministry notified the ordinance on Saturday, which amended the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, to increase the sanctioned strength of the top court.
So far, the sanctioned strength of the top court was 34, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI). Now, the number of judges has been increased by four, taking the sanctioned strength to 38.
The top court will now have 37 judges, other than the CJI.
With the apex court having two vacancies at present, and the ordinance coming into force immediately, the Supreme Court Collegium will now have to recommend six names for appointment as judges in the top court.
A bill will be brought in the Monsoon Session of Parliament to convert the ordinance – an executive order – into a law passed by Parliament.
The Union Cabinet had cleared a draft bill on May 5 to increase the number of apex court judges.
The strength of the Supreme Court was last increased from 30 to 33 (excluding the CJI) in 2019.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, as originally enacted in 1956, put the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) at 10.
This number was increased to 13 by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges), Amendment Act, 1960, and to 17 by another amendment to the law.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1986, augmented the strength of judges from 17 to 25, excluding the CJI.
A fresh amendment in 2009 further increased the strength from 25 to 30.
Article 124(3) of the Constitution lists the qualifications required to become a Supreme Court judge.
An Indian citizen who has either served as a high court judge for at least five years, or as an advocate for 10 years, or is a distinguished jurist, can be appointed to the top court.
The strength of the Supreme Court is increased based on the recommendations of the CJI, who writes to the Union law minister. After consulting the finance ministry, the Department of Justice under the law ministry moves the Cabinet with a draft bill.
