458 people dead as Jharkhand witnesses heaviest monsoon in a decade, climate change blamed
Ranchi (PTI): Jharkhand witnessed one of its most intense monsoons in a decade this year, leaving behind a trail of destruction across the state.
Between June and September, heavy rainfall and associated disasters claimed at least 458 lives, damaged thousands of homes, and ravaged farmlands, official data showed.
According to figures compiled from various state departments, 186 people were killed by lightning strikes, while 178 drowned in rain-related incidents. Floods, landslides, and house collapses accounted for the remaining casualties.
The deluge completely destroyed 467 houses and partially damaged over 8,000, while crops across 2,390 hectare were lost, particularly in Ranchi, Gumla, Lohardaga, and Simdega districts.
In Sahibganj alone, rising water levels of the Ganga displaced around 20,000 people.
"This year, Jharkhand recorded 1,199.5 mm of rainfall between June 1 and September 30, which is 18 per cent above normal," Ranchi Meteorological Centre's Director Abhishek Anand told PTI.
"It is the highest rainfall the state has seen in the past decade. The last comparable figure was 1,101.8 mm in 2016," he said.
Anand attributed the record rainfall to climate change and increased sea surface temperatures in the Bay of Bengal, which led to frequent low-pressure formations drifting toward Jharkhand.
"The Bay of Bengal remained unusually active this season, causing repeated heavy downpours across eastern and southeastern districts," he said.
Among districts, East Singhbhum topped the list with 1,669.5 mm of rainfall, followed by Saraikela-Kharsawan (1,526.3 mm) and Ranchi (1,550.2 mm), each recording more than 50 per cent of normal rainfall.
The IMD predicted a "pink cold", or mild winter, around Diwali and Chhath Puja, followed by potentially intense cold later in the season.
"The severity of winter will depend on global factors like La Nina, changes in wind patterns, and snowfall in the Himalayan region," Anand explained.
While rainfall activity has now begun to decline, the IMD has forecast isolated moderate rain with thunder and lightning in some areas until October 12, after which dry conditions are expected to prevail as the monsoon withdraws.
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.
Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
_vb_22.jpeg)
