Sri Lanka declares state of emergency to tackle disaster relief operations
Colombo(PTI): Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has declared a state of emergency throughout the island in view of the emergency situation that has emerged due to the devastation caused by floods.
According to an official gazette dated Friday and released on Saturday, the state of emergency has been declared throughout the island.
On Friday, at an all-party meeting, the opposition leaders called for the state of emergency to be declared. The doctors’ trade union in a letter addressed to Dissanayake underscored the need to impose a state of emergency.
The regulations are expected to expedite the process of relief coordination and rescue operations.
The need for speedy deployment of troops, police, the health sector, civil administration and the civil defence force to tackle the crisis situation is to be facilitated through the state of emergency, officials said.
Cyclone Ditwah on Saturday exited Sri Lanka that left more than 120 dead, amid a trail of destruction and damage to infrastructure, entering the south Indian coastal line, meteorological officials said.
“We noticed Ditwah exiting Sri Lanka and heading towards the Indian coast,” Athula Karunanayake, director general of the meteorology department, told reporters.
“However, its indirect impact with heavy rains and high speed winds will remain for some time,” he added.
The official death toll at 9 am was 123 while 130 remain missing, according to the Disaster Management Centre (DMC).
The figure is expected to be much higher as severely affected areas suffer communication breakdown due to bad weather which has hampered verification of the impact from the disaster.
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Mangaluru: Teacher booked for allegedly beating student in school
Vittla (Dakshina Kannada): A case has been registered at the Vittla Police Station against a school teacher on charges of seriously assaulting a student with a cane at an English-medium school in Idkidu village here near Vittla in Dakshina Kannada district.
According to the complaint, the student, who attends the school regularly, had gone to school as usual. Around 2 pm, the child’s parents received a call from the school office stating that their child had allegedly disturbed other students. The school informed them that when the teacher scolded the student over the issue, the child became frightened and urinated, and the parents were asked to come and take the child home.
The parents reportedly told the school staff that no one was at home at the time and requested that the child be sent home in an autorickshaw.
After returning home, the student told the parents that a teacher identified as Istikaar had beaten him severely on the hand with a cane. The child also said that he urinated out of fear while the assault was taking place.
When the parents contacted the teacher over the phone to question him about the incident, he allegedly responded in a dismissive manner.
Following this, the parents lodged complaints with the Vittla Police Station and the Child Development Project Office, seeking justice and strict action against the teacher for allegedly assaulting the child without any valid reason.
Police have registered a case against the teacher and have taken up further investigation.
