Nearly 200 killed in floods, landslides in Nepal
Kathmandu (PTI): The death toll from rain-induced floods and landslides across Nepal reached nearly 200 on Monday, with at least 30 people still missing, according to the police.
Incessant rainfall from last Friday triggered floods and landslides, wreaking havoc in the Himalayan nation.
At least 192 people have been killed in the continuous rainfall, floods, landslides and inundation, officials from the Nepal Police said.
They said 94 others have also been injured nationwide in the disaster, while 30 others remain missing.
The government has given high priority to search, rescue, and relief operations, MyRepublica news portal reported, quoting Home Ministry Spokesperson Rishiram Tiwari.
Security agencies across the country have been deployed for search, rescue and relief efforts, and more than 4,500 disaster-affected individuals have been rescued so far, the report said.
While those injured are receiving free treatment, food and other emergency relief materials have been provided to others affected by the floods.
Numerous roads throughout the nation are severely damaged, and all routes leading to the capital city, Kathmandu, are still blocked, leaving thousands of travellers stranded, The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported.
Tiwari said efforts are underway to clear the obstructed highways to resume transportation.
Kathmandu's main river, the Bagmati, was flowing above danger levels after incessant rain lashed Large swathes of eastern and central Nepal on Friday and Saturday, a report published by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) said.
"A low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal and the more northerly than usual position of the monsoon trough was the reason" behind the exceptionally intense rain, it said on Saturday.
Scientists say that while climate change is changing the amount and timing of rainfall across Asia, a key reason for the rise in the impact of floods is the built environment, including unplanned construction, especially on floodplains, which leaves insufficient areas for water retention and drainage.
The floods and landslides have thrown life out of gear in many parts of the country, with many highways and road stretches disrupted, hundreds of houses and bridges buried or swept away, and hundreds of families displaced.
Thousands of passengers have been stranded in various places due to road disruption.
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Cong 'pocketed' Rs 150 cr per annum from Assam healthcare budget during 15 yrs of rule: Shah
Guwahati (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday alleged that the Congress, during its previous 15 years of rule in Assam, "pocketed" Rs 150 crore per annum from the state healthcare budget.
Inaugurating and laying the foundation stone for healthcare projects worth Rs 2,092 crore in Assam, Shah said the BJP works for affordable healthcare for all sections of society and lauded Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for bringing the state's medical facilities at par with states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
"Assam's healthcare was in shambles 10 years ago as Congress worked only for the financial health of its leaders' families," he said.
Attacking Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, he said that no Indian supports his acts of "defaming" the country in his bid to oppose the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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He lambasted the Congress for its "shirtless" protest at the recent AI summit in New Delhi and Gandhi for having 'chai-pakora' on the stairs of Parliament House.
"We were also in the opposition and staged protests against the government, but there is a right platform for it," he said.
"Parliament is a sacred seat of democracy. Its stairs should not be used for even dharnas. And Rahul Gandhi was having 'chai-pakora' there. Doesn't he know where to have his breakfast?" asked the Union minister.
Shah inaugurated the Rs 675-crore Pragjyotishpur Medical College and Hospital in Guwahati, at a programme held on its premises.
He also virtually inaugurated two cancer centres at Golaghat and Tinsukia, both under Assam Cancer Care Foundation (ACCF), constructed at a cost of Rs 135 crore each.
Shah virtually laid the foundation stone for super-speciality hospitals at Diphu Medical College and Hospital (Rs 220 crore), Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (Rs 310 crore), and Barpeta Medical College and Hospital (Rs 284 crore).
The foundation stone for a Rs 218-crore Swasthya Bhawan in Guwahati, and the Abhayapuri District Hospital (Rs 115 crore) were also laid by the Union home minister.
Shah arrived here on Saturday evening on a two-day visit to Assam, his fourth visit to the northeastern state in four months.
