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.
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ASHA workers threaten indefinite strike from Feb 27 over rationalisation order, pending demands
Bengaluru: ASHA workers in Karnataka have warned of launching an indefinite strike from February 27, protesting a health department order to rationalise the workforce and alleging that long-pending demands have not been addressed.
The Karnataka State Joint ASHA Workers’ Association criticised the department’s decision to increase the population assigned to each ASHA worker, arguing that it violates existing norms and would lead to large-scale job losses. According to current norms, one ASHA worker is assigned for every 1,000 individuals. Under the current rationalisation plan, the allotted population in rural regions has been increased to up to 2,000, while in metropolitan areas with populations more than 50,000, the number has been raised from 1,000 to a minimum of 2,500 and a maximum of 3,000.
Deccan Herald quoted D Nagalakshmi, state secretary of the ASHA Union affiliated to AITUC, as saying the department had conveyed that an honorarium of ₹10,000 could not be ensured unless the population coverage per worker was increased. She alleged that workers were effectively being asked to accept higher workloads while excess ASHAs would be removed. “This would render nearly 7,000 to 8,000 ASHA workers jobless, and such a move is being carried out only in Karnataka,” she said.
At present, the state government pays ASHA workers a monthly honorarium of ₹5,000, while the Centre provides performance-based incentives. Workers said accessing these incentives has become difficult as data must be entered on the ASHA portal by primary health community officers, but vacancies in these posts have not been filled.
The workers have also submitted a set of pre-Budget demands, seeking an increase in the combined state and central incentives to ₹15,000 and enhancement of the state honorarium to ₹ 8,000, in line with promises made in the Congress election manifesto. Other demands include a lump-sum retirement benefit on the lines of West Bengal, creation of a corpus fund to meet treatment expenses of ASHA workers suffering from serious illnesses with reimbursement provisions, and payment of a fixed monthly honorarium for up to three months during recovery from severe illness.
ASHA workers had staged an indefinite protest in January over similar issues. On the fourth day of the agitation, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah intervened and assured the workers that their demands would be met.
