Rescuers scour Uttarakhand avalanche site as weather clears up, choppers likely to be roped in
Dehradun (PTI): Rescuers resumed the search for 22 labourers trapped under several feet of snow in the high-altitude Mana village in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Saturday morning as the weather cleared up.
Choppers are likely to be roped in for the operation if the weather permits, an official said.
Fifty-five Border Roads Organisation (BRO) labourers were trapped under the avalanche on Friday and 33 of them were rescued. Rain and snowfall hampered the rescue efforts and the operation was suspended as the night fell.
The snowslide, which buried the BRO camp between Mana and Badrinath, rolled down early on Friday morning.
Private and IAF choppers will aid the rescue efforts on Saturday if the weather permits. The nearest airstrip at Gauchar has been readied for the purpose, Chamoli District Disaster Management Officer N K Joshi said.
It is a little cloudy at the moment but once the weather becomes favourable, the helicopters will be pressed into service, he said.
Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel based in Mana have resumed the rescue operation, he added.
A let-up in rain and snowfall can help speed up efforts to trace the 22 labourers who have been trapped under the snow for more than 24 hours now.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is also likely to visit the avalanche site.
According to a list released by the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority, the trapped labourers are from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir, among other states. The list has 10 labourers' names, without mentioning the states they belong to.
Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said on Friday that the task is challenging as there is seven feet of snow near the avalanche site.
More than 65 personnel are engaged in the rescue operations, he said.
Located three kilometres from Badrinath, Mana is the last village on the India-Tibet border at a height of 3,200 metres.
Dehradun, Mar 1 (PTI) Rescuers resumed the search for 22 labourers trapped under several feet of snow in the high-altitude Mana village in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Saturday morning as the weather cleared up.
Choppers are likely to be roped in for the operation if the weather permits, an official said.
Fifty-five Border Roads Organisation (BRO) labourers were trapped under the avalanche on Friday and 33 of them were rescued. Rain and snowfall hampered the rescue efforts and the operation was suspended as the night fell.
The snowslide, which buried the BRO camp between Mana and Badrinath, rolled down early on Friday morning.
Private and IAF choppers will aid the rescue efforts on Saturday if the weather permits. The nearest airstrip at Gauchar has been readied for the purpose, Chamoli District Disaster Management Officer N K Joshi said.
It is a little cloudy at the moment but once the weather becomes favourable, the helicopters will be pressed into service, he said.
Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel based in Mana have resumed the rescue operation, he added.
A let-up in rain and snowfall can help speed up efforts to trace the 22 labourers who have been trapped under the snow for more than 24 hours now.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is also likely to visit the avalanche site.
According to a list released by the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority, the trapped labourers are from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir, among other states. The list has 10 labourers' names, without mentioning the states they belong to.
Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said on Friday that the task is challenging as there is seven feet of snow near the avalanche site.
More than 65 personnel are engaged in the rescue operations, he said.
Located three kilometres from Badrinath, Mana is the last village on the India-Tibet border at a height of 3,200 metres.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
