The Evening Wrap: Idukki landslip toll crosses 40

The Hindu Newsletter - Here are the latest updates and the big news stories to follow today

	Sunday 09, August 2020

The Evening Wrap

Here are the biggest news stories of the day Welcome to The Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day's biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Kerala rains: Idukki landslip death toll crosses 40 With the recovery of 16 more bodies from the landslip-hit estate area of Pettimudy near Rajamala today, the total number of deaths crossed 40. As per the official data 24 more persons are still missing from the accident spot where a major landslip on Thursday buried four estate 'layams, ( living quarters of estate workers). Despite the adverse climate, including rains and mists hampering the search operation in the hilly terrain, the efforts to drive out water from the area began on Sunday. About 200 members of NDRF were searching the area where three acres of land are completely under the debris. The access to the earthmovers was difficult as the area was water-logged. A dog squad of the district police also joined the search operation. The sniffer dogs helped in tracing many bodies from the accident area. Drones were also used to search the area and eight bodies were retrieved from the stream which flowed close to the ill-fated layams where the waterstream from the landslip joined. Seven earthmovers were engaged in removing the debris to search the area. Confusion over Sonia Gandhi's tenure as Congress chief The confusion over Sonia Gandhi's tenure as Congress president continues with a section of the party now insisting that there is no fixed tenure for an interim president. Ms Gandhi's tenure ends on Monday and even amid calls for a more permanent arrangement from some quarters it appears that an extension for her is the only way out for the party. Congress president Sonia Gandhi. File At an online press conference, Rajya Sabha MP and party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said Ms. Gandhi will continue to be president till a procedure is implemented to bring in her successor. Mr. Singhvi said, "Just like nature, political parties too can't function in a vacuum. It is true that her tenure expires tomorrow, there is a laid down procedure for elections. In the meanwhile, if anyone is suggesting that the Congress will become headless at the stroke of midnight on August 10, is that a fair interpretation?" Shashi Tharoor calls for elections to Congress president post, CWC Senior leader and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor took a firm stand on the issue today, saying the party must have elections to the CWC and for the post of the president which would certainly have a number of beneficial outcomes. "I certainly believe we should be clear about our leadership going forward. I welcomed Soniaji's appointment as interim president last year but I do believe it's unfair to her to expect her to carry this burden indefinitely," he said. CISF orders inquiry after DMK MP Kanimozhi asked 'are you Indian' The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on Sunday ordered an inquiry soon after DMK MP Kanimozhi's complained that a woman officer of the paramilitary agency at the Chennai airport had asked her if she was Indian for not speaking in Hindi. "It would not have been an issue if the incident took place in Delhi. Surprisingly it happened at Chennai airport," Ms Kanimozhi told The Hindu. DMK MP Kanimozhi. File Soon after she encountered the experience while proceeding to New Delhi, the Thoothukudi MP had tweeted, "Today at the airport a CISF officer asked me if I am an Indian, when I asked her to speak to me in Tamil or in English as I did not know Hindi. I would like to know from when being Indian is equal to knowing Hindi." Soon the CISF headquarters responded promising appropriate action. "We sincerely acknowledge your unpleasant experience. Kindly DM journey details; name of the airport, location, date and time of the incident for appropriate action in the matter," the agency said. MoD introduces import embargo for Make in India push The Ministry of Defence (MoD) would "introduce import embargo on 101 items beyond given timeline to boost indigenisation of defence production," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced through a series of tweets on Sunday. The policy change comes in the wake of Chinese transgressions and buildup along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh. China has refused to pull back fores from several areas. It massed troops since April-May and has refused to vacate areas along the undefined border that were traditionally patrolled by the Indian Army. "The Ministry of Defence is now ready for a big push to #AtmanirbharBharat initiative. ….Taking cue from that evocation, the Ministry of Defence has prepared a list of 101 items for which there would be an embargo on the import beyond the timeline indicated against them. This is a big step towards self-reliance in defence. #AtmanirbharBharat," Mr. Singh said. Ashok Gehlot appeals to MLAs to listen to voice of people Ahead of the Rajasthan Assembly session, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday appealed to all MLAs to listen to the voice of people to save democracy and stand with the truth in the interest of people of the state. The Assembly session in the state, which has been witnessing political turmoil after the rebellion by Sachin Pilot and legislators loyal to him, will start on August 14. Mr. Gehlot is likely to seek a trust vote during the session In a letter to all MLAs, Mr. Gehlot sought their cooperation in fulfilling the promises of development and prosperity of the state. "It is my appeal that you should listen to the voice of people in order to avoid wrong tradition, to maintain people's trust in us and to save democracy," Mr. Gehlot said in the letter. Zomato introduces 'period leaves' for employees Online restaurant guide and food ordering platform Zomato on Saturday said it is introducing up to 10 days of 'period leaves' for all women employees to build a more inclusive work culture in the organisation. A Zomato delivery executive in Madurai. File "At Zomato, we want to foster a culture of trust, truth and acceptance. Starting today, all women (including transgender people) at Zomato can avail up to 10 days of period leaves in a year," Zomato Founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal said in a blog post. There shouldn't be any shame or stigma attached to applying for a period leave. You should feel free to tell people on internal groups, or emails that you are on your period leave for the day, he added. Rahul Gandhi calls draft EIA 'dangerous' Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi today said the draft Environmental Impact Assessment 2020 is "disgraceful" and "dangerous", and has the potential to reverse many of the hard fought gains won over the years in the battle to protect the environment. The draft EIA (2020) was published by the The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) with the intention of replacing the existing EIA Notification 2006 under the Environment Protection Act, 1986. Read our explainer on it here. In a long Facebook post, Mr. Gandhi said the proposed legislation is going to give a free hand to highly polluting industries such as coal mining and other mineral mining. "Consider this: according to our "Swachh Bharat" propagating Government, if labelled "strategic", highly polluting industries such as coal mining and other mineral mining will no longer require Environmental Impact Assessment. Neither will highways or railway lines passing through dense forests and other eco sensitive areas, that will result in the massive hacking down of trees, leading to the destruction of habitats of thousands of endangered species.," he wrote. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of coronavirus cases reported from India stands at 22,11,342 at the time of publishing this newsletter with the death toll at 44,435. India on Sunday recorded 64,399 new cases. The Health Ministry continues to play up positive numbers. Scaling up testing capacity, over seven lakh samples have been examined for COVID-19 in a day taking the cumulative tests conducted so far to 2,41,06,535, it said today. The number of recoveries too has surged to 14,80,884 with 53,879 coronavirus patients having recuperated and discharged in 24-hours, the highest in a day so far, pushing the recovery rate to 68.78%. The fatality rate has further dropped to 2.01 per cent, it added. In brief: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched a new financing scheme under the ₹1akh crore Agriculture Infrastructure Fund meant for setting up storage and processing facilities, which will help farmers get higher prices for their crops, according to a government statement. Mr. Modi launched the scheme via videoconferencing and interacted with farmers across the country. He also released the sixth instalment of funds under the PM-KISAN, which amounted to ₹17,000 crore to about 8.5 crore farmers. The first ₹1,000 crore was sanctioned on Sunday to over 2,280 farmer societies under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, which was approved by the Cabinet a month ago, the statement said.

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