Landslide traps 47 people in southwest China; 2 killed
Beijing/Kunming(PTI): At least two people were killed and over 40 others went missing after a landslide struck southwest China's mountainous Yunnan province on Monday.
The disaster struck the Liangshui village of Zhaotong city at 5:51 am Beijing time, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Over 500 residents were evacuated from the landslide-hit areas as the provincial commission for disaster reduction activated a Level-III emergency response for disaster relief, state-run CCTV reported.
Efforts were ongoing to rescue the people trapped under the landslide, official media reported, adding that two of the missing people found dead.
The 47 buried people were from 18 different households, rescue officials said.
More than 200 rescuers, along with 33 firefighting vehicles and 10 loading machines, were mobilised to search for the missing.
Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered an all-out search and rescue of the people missing in a landslide.
[We should] promptly organise rescue teams, make all-out efforts to search for missing individuals, and minimise casualties to the greatest extent possible,” Xi said, according to the report.
Xi, the general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, called on party cadres to watch out for other natural disaster risks and hidden dangers “to effectively ensure the safety of people’s lives and property” as a result of the wave of cold weather that swept across southern China just three weeks before the Lunar New Year.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang, too, ordered an all-out rescue effort in Liangshui and emphasised the need to maintain social stability, in light of the area’s high altitude and ethnic diversity.
“It is necessary to promptly evacuate the threatened population, handle resettlement properly, effectively ensure the safety of people’s lives and property, and maintain overall social stability,” he said, official media reported.
The cause of the landslide was not immediately known.
The local weather forecast said there will be light snow in the town on Tuesday, with the lowest temperature expected to reach -3 degrees Celsius, the report said.
47 villagers were buried in a landslide that occurred in Zhenxiong County of Zhaotong City, southwest China's Yunnan Province on early Monday, local authorities said. A search and rescue operation is currently underway. pic.twitter.com/ugDPG8XiMA
— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) January 22, 2024
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Nothing wrong in MLAs aspiring for ministerial position: K'taka HM Parameshwara
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Bengaluru (PTI): Amid a group of ruling Congress MLAs camping in Delhi with a cabinet rejig demand for their inclusion, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Monday said there was nothing wrong in legislators aspiring for ministerial positions.
He asserted that experienced MLAs were capable of handling such responsibilities.
His remarks came a day after senior and first-time MLAs stepped up lobbying efforts in the national capital with the party high command, seeking a cabinet reshuffle and greater representation.
"There is nothing wrong in them asking for it (ministerial position)," Parameshwara, a senior Congress leader, said
He added that the MLAs, some of who have been elected thrice, are capable to take up the ministerial positions.
He maintained that the final call on any cabinet reshuffle rests with the party high command.
"Our Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah), the high command, and our party (state) president (DK Shivakumar) decide about reshuffle. These three sit together and take a decision," he said.
The minister also indicated that the established procedure for cabinet formation was likely being followed.
"Earlier too, when I was the (state Congress) president, during cabinet formation, the Pradesh Congress Committee president, the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader, and our in-charge general secretaries would take decisions that would then be presented before our AICC president, approval would be obtained, and then it would be announced," he said.
He added that even today the same procedure is followed.
Responding to questions on whether senior ministers would make way for newcomers, Parameshwara said they would abide by the party's decision.
"If the high command decides then we have to accept it. There is no question of not accepting it," he said.
Stressing on party discipline, he added, "Whether it is me, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, or Energy Minister K J George, we all are seniors. If they (high command) decide that we should be replaced and make changes, then there is no question of us opposing it."
Clarifying that discussions were limited to a possible cabinet reshuffle, he said decisions on leadership matters were entirely in the hands of the high command.
He said the discussions were limited only to the Cabinet rejig and not changing the party state president, a post being held by Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar for the past six years.
"Right now we are discussing cabinet reshuffle, not about the party president. All such matters are left to the high command," he said.
Recalling his own appointment as state Congress president in the past, Parameshwara said he had not lobbied for the post. "When I was made president, I did not lobby for it. Our leader Sonia Gandhi took the decision. It came as a surprise to me. I had not asked for it," he said.
On Sunday, several senior MLAs travelled to Delhi to press for a cabinet reshuffle, while first-time legislators renewed their demand for representation, seeking at least five berths in the Siddaramaiah-led ministry.
The push for a rejig comes amid internal rumblings within the ruling party and speculation over leadership issues, even as the high command is yet to take a final call.
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