New Delhi: Indian high jumper Tejaswin Shankar has claimed a gold medal at the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Manhattan, USA.

Representing Kanasas State University, Tejaswin cleared 2.28 metres on Saturday, making a facility record.

It was also the season's finest performance for the Indian but a centimetre short of his personal best and the current national record of 2.29m which he created in 2018.

University of Oklahoma's Vernon Turner (2.25m) and Texas Tech University's Jequan Hogan (2.11m) claimed the silver and bronze respectively.

This was Tejaswin's second successive gold at the event.

He claimed the top honours in 2019 as well while the event could not be held in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 22-year-old has been in the US since 2017 when he joined the Kansas State University to pursue business administration on a scholarship.

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Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 15 (PTI): The Kerala government has decided to declare as ‘deceased’ the people who went missing in the devastating landslide in Wayanad last year which will help provide compensation to their families.

The decision comes as a huge relief to the kin of people who were reported missing in the disaster.

As per a government order issued on Tuesday, local, district and state level committees will be formed including revenue department officials to examine the list of missing people.

The local level committee includes the panchayat secretary, village officer and station house officer of respective police stations. The committee will prepare a list of missing people and submit it to the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) for scrutiny.

The DDMA will examine the list and forward it to the state-level committee with its suggestions. The state level committee, comprising additional chief secretary (home) and principal secretaries of revenue and local self-government, will examine the list and forward it to the government, the order said.

The government will subsequently issue an order declaring them as dead and providing ex-gratia to their close relatives.

According to official record, 263 people were dead and 35 people were reported missing in the landslides that occurred on July 30 last year. The order directs the local level committee to closely examine the FIRs filed in connection with the missing people in the respective police stations.

The tahsildar or sub-divisional magistrate should conduct a detailed enquiry about the missing person and the findings will be published on the official website and government gazette.

A 30-day period will be given for filing any objections, after which the list of missing people will be published and death certificates issued to their immediate relatives, the order said.