US awards 26 Indian shipping firms taking part in high sea rescue
Mumbai, Aug 27: The United States Consulate in Mumbai on Monday awarded 26 Indian shipping companies which participated in the US Coast Guard (USCG)'s Automated Mutual-assistance Vessel Rescue (AMVER) programmes.
The AMVER in a worldwide initiative that ensures quick and efficient rescue of disabled or distressed ships at sea, saving the lives of sailors and ensuring continuity of shipping operations.
US Consul-General in Mumbai Edgard Kagan said that AMVER, now in its Diamond Jubilee year, is an excellent example of mutual assistance and partnership.
"These awards are an opportunity to recognize the Indian merchant mariners and their efforts to facilitate world trade while preserving safety at sea," Kagan said.
Presenting the awards jointly with Kagan, India's Director-General of Shipping Malini V. Shankar said that AMVER is a unique and voluntary global ship reporting system used worldwide to arrange for assistance to ships and sailors in distress at sea.
"Instead of relying only on specialized rescue operations, this initiative provides an excellent opportunity for mutual cooperation on the seas. AMVER is an enduring example of international public-private partnership," Shankar added.
Established in 1958 and managed by the USCG, AMVER is a search-and-rescue (SAR) programme in which merchant ships sailing the high seas make themselves available for maritime emergency response on a voluntary basis without regard to nationality but with the main objective that no call for help should go unresponded.
Over 140 nations are participating in AMVER, providing a global safety net for mariners, comprising more than 7,850 ships available to carry out SAR services worldwide.
In 2017, AMVER mobilized 103 ships for providing such assistance to distressed ships and helped save 153 lives of mariners.
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5-year-old girl allegedly kidnapped, killed by man in Hubballi, sparks outrage
Hubballi, Apr 13 (PTI): A 5-year-old girl child was allegedly kidnapped and killed by a man here on Sunday, police said.
The incident occurred at the Ashok Nagar police station limits here and the body was found in an abandoned building, they said.
Though there are reports of sexual assault, police have not confirmed it, and have said that medical examination and investigations are underway.
Outraged by the incident, a large number of residents from the locality gathered in front of Ashok Nagar police station and staged a protest, demanding justice.
"The complaint is being taken from the parents of a girl and necessary legal action will follow," Police Commissioner of Hubballi-Dharwad N Shashi Kumar told reporters here.
Victim's family hails from Koppal district. Her mother worked as a house maid and as an assistant at a beauty parlor while her father worked as a painter, he said.
"The mother had taken her daughter for work, as she was working at the houses in the locality. An unidentified man had taken the girl from there. On searching, the girl was found in the bathroom of a small sheet roofed building in front of the House from where she had gone missing. She was immediately shifted to hospital, where she was declared brought dead," he said.
The Commissioner said, the culprit will be nabbed at the earliest and necessary legal action will be taken.
Responding to a question on the accused, he said, CCTV footage is being checked, once the identity of the accused is established, his whereabouts and other details can be ascertained and necessary action will be taken.
Asked was there any rape attempt or sexual assault, he said, "No information for now. Cause of death, was there any kind of assault on the girl child will all be verified," he said.
Police have requested agitators to maintain peace and allow police to do their job and take necessary action.
