India rushes Bailey bridge, water units to Sri Lanka; shares digital disaster-response toolkit
Colombo (PTI): India has sent a Bailey bridge and hundreds of water-purification units to cyclone-hit Sri Lanka as part of its ongoing humanitarian support to reconnect isolated communities and restore essential services in the island nation.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by Cyclone Ditwah, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 479 people have been killed and 350 are missing as of Wednesday evening due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
An IAF aircraft on Wednesday transported the prefabricated Bailey bridge and 500 water purification units to help ensure access to safe drinking water in cyclone-affected regions.
"Bridging gaps and restoring hope under Operation Sagar Bandhu. A C-17 has flown in a Bailey Bridge along with 500 water purification units, paving the way for reconnecting isolated communities and ensuring access to safe drinking water,” the Indian High Commission here posted on social media on Thursday.
In another post, the mission said disaster-management cooperation between the two neighbours also continued in the digital sphere.
In a virtual meeting held on Wednesday, Bhaskar Katamneni, Secretary of Real Time Governance, Andhra Pradesh, shared a "digital toolkit" showcasing the state government's best practices in disaster preparedness and response with Hans Wijayasuriya, Chief Advisor to the Sri Lankan President on Digital Economy, and the GovTech team.
India has been extending humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka under Operation Sagar Bandhu, with extensive air, sea and ground operations delivering urgent relief to those affected.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in a social media post on Wednesday expressed appreciation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi for India’s steadfast support to Sri Lanka.
“India’s prompt assistance under the SAGAR-BANDHU initiative underscores the depth of our partnership and the enduring goodwill between our nations,” he said.
Officials estimate a total economic loss of between USD 6 billion and 7 billion, which is roughly 3-5 per cent of the island nation's GDP, due to the cyclone.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
