Thai cave rescue: 4 more boys rescued by divers
Bangkok, July 9 : Four more boys were rescued on Monday by divers from a flooded cave in northern Thailand, where 12 of them and their soccer coach have been trapped for more than two weeks, authorities said.
Four boys were taken out from the Tham Luang cave complex during a successful first operation on Sunday, while four more were safely brought out on the second day of rescue operation. Now, five people, including coach Ekapol Chantawong remain inside the cave.
The identities of the rescued boys were not confirmed. The group got trapped in the cave on June 23 after heavy rains caused flooding. They were found alive last week by divers.
The Thai Navy Seals confirmed the rescue. The public television broadcast live video of medivac helicopters landing close to a hospital in the city of Chiang Rai. They were believed to be ferrying the rescued boys, the BBC reported.
The same divers who managed to rescue the first group of boys were involved in the second operation. Officials said that conditions were as good as they were on Sunday and that rain did not affect water levels inside the cave.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha delayed a planned visit to the site so as not to disrupt the rescue mission. He had been due at the site in the evening.
Rescue mission chief Narongsak Osottanakorn said physical contact of the rescued with their loved ones would be avoided until a risk of infection had passed, though contact through glass or at a distance might be allowed.
A team of 90 expert divers -- 40 from Thailand and 50 from overseas -- are working in the cave system. They are guiding the boys through darkness and submerged passageways towards the mouth of the cave system.
The process includes a mixture of walking, wading, climbing and diving along guide ropes already in place. Wearing full-face masks, easier for novice divers than traditional respirators, each boy was being accompanied by two divers.
The toughest part is about halfway out at a section named "T-Junction", which is so tight the divers have to take off their air tanks to get through.
Beyond that a cavern -- called Chamber 3 -- has been turned into a forward base for the divers. The boys can rest there before making the last, easier walk out to the entrance.
The boys, aged between 11 and 16, were found inside the cave by British rescue divers a week ago, about 4 km from the cave mouth. They belong to a football club called the Wild Boars and became trapped during an excursion with their coach.
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Why remove Mahatma Gandhi's name, asks Priyanka on move to replace MGNREGA
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday slammed the government over its move to change the name of MGNREGA, asking what is the government's intention behind removing the name of Mahatma Gandhi who is the tallest leader not just in India but in the world.
A bill to repeal the MGNREGA and bring a new law for rural employment -- Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025 -- is set to be introduced in the Lok Sabha. According to a copy of the bill, it seeks to introduce the VB-G RAM G Bill, 2025, in Parliament and repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) of 2005.
Asked about the government's move, Priyanka Gandhi said, "Whenever the name of a scheme is changed there are so many changes that have to be made in offices, stationery... for which money is spent. So, what is the benefit, why it is being done?"
"Why is Mahatma Gandhi's name being removed. Mahatma Gandhi is considered the tallest leader not just in the country but in the world, so removing his name, I really don't understand what is the objective? What is their intention?" she told reporters in Parliament House complex.
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"Even when we are debating it is on other issues not the real issues of the people. Time is being wasted, money is being wasted, they are disrupting themselves," Priyanka Gandhi added.
The bill aims at establishing a "rural development framework aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047", by providing a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment in every financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work.
The bill has been listed in the Lok Sabha in the supplementary list of business issued on Monday.
Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, in the statement of purpose of the Bill, said MGNREGA has provided guaranteed wage-employment to rural households over the past 20 years.
However, "further strengthening has become necessary in view of the significant socio-economic transformation witnessed in the rural landscape driven by widespread coverage of the social security interventions and saturation-oriented implementation of major government schemes", he said.
#WATCH | दिल्ली: कांग्रेस सांसद प्रियंका गांधी वाड्रा ने MGNREGA का नाम बदले जाने पर कहा, "...वे महात्मा गांधी का नाम क्यों हटा रहे हैं? वे इस देश के, इतिहास के और दुनिया के सबसे बड़े नेता माने जाते हैं। मुझे समझ नहीं आ रहा इसके पीछे इनकी(सरकार की) मंशा क्या है? सदन चल नहीं रहा।… pic.twitter.com/gp5wNLllDu
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