Death toll in California wildfire jumps to 42
Paradise (US), Nov 13: Authorities have reported 13 more fatalities from a blaze in Northern California that destroyed a town, bringing the total death toll so far to 42 and making it the deadliest wildfire in recorded state history.
The dead have been found in burned-out cars, in the smoldering ruins of their homes, or next to their vehicles, apparently overcome by smoke and flames before they could jump in behind the wheel and escape.
In some cases, there were only charred fragments of bone, so small that coroner's investigators used a wire basket to sift and sort them. The search for bodies was continuing.
Hundreds of people were unaccounted for by the sheriff's reckoning, four days after the fire swept over the town of 27,000 with flames so fierce that authorities brought in a mobile DNA lab and forensic anthropologists to help identify the dead.
The statewide death toll from wildfires over the past week has reached 44.
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Karnataka panel backs move to grant second official language status to Tulu
Mangaluru (PTI): A high-level committee constituted by the Karnataka government to study the framework adopted by Andhra Pradesh for recognising Urdu as a second official language has submitted its report, backing the state’s move to accord similar status to Tulu.
The six-member panel, headed by K M Gayatri, former Director of the Kannada and Culture Department, examined the procedures followed by the Andhra Pradesh government before granting second official language status to Urdu, officials said on Wednesday.
The committee undertook a field visit to the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat on January 19 and 20 and held consultations with senior officials to understand the legal provisions, administrative mechanisms, and implementation benchmarks involved, they said.
The panel also included Tharanatha Gatti Kapikad, president of the Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy, in an advisory capacity.
The report, along with a detailed note outlining Tulu’s historical, linguistic, and cultural significance, was submitted to J Manjunath, Secretary, Kannada and Culture Department, at Vikas Soudha here.
According to official sources, the study was aimed at gathering inputs to help Karnataka frame criteria and procedural guidelines if it decides to grant second official language status to Tulu.
Senior officials present at the submission included B S Manjunath Swami, Director of the Kannada and Culture Department; representatives of the Law Department and the Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department; and office-bearers of various state academies.
Tulu is predominantly spoken in the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, and in parts of Kasaragod in neighbouring Kerala.
The demand to accord it second official language status in Karnataka has been raised by cultural organisations for several years.
