33 Philippine miners dead in typhoon-triggered landslides
Manila, Sep 17 : At least 33 miners were confirmed dead and 29 others missing in the mining town of Itogon in the northern Philippine Benguet province due to typhoon-triggered landslides, authorities said on Sunday.
Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said in local radio interviews that landslides had blocked roads, making relief rescue efforts difficult, Xinhua reported.
In Ucab village of Itogon, he said, two bunkhouses with an estimated 100 people living inside were buried by mud and rubble triggered by Typhoon Mangkhut on Saturday.
"I can't begin to accept this, but it looks like the casualties here are going to go up to at least 100," Palangdan said.
Most of Itogon residents work as miners in small scale mining industry while the rest are in farming. Most mine workers built boot camps around the mining area with their families.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines have sent troops to the disaster area to help in the rescue and retrieval efforts. But rescuers said the buried bunkhouses were built at a steep angle, making it difficult to implement rescue.
Meanwhile, the regional police of Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) said at least 49 people have so far died in the region that bore the brunt of the typhoon. Fourteen others are missing, the police said. Thirty-two people were also injured, the police added.
The Cordillera Administrative Region, which consists seven provinces, is the only land-locked region of the Philippines. The regional centre is Baguio City, officially known as the Summer Capital of the Philippines.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
