Death toll reaches 25 in Bihar IMD predicts more rain on Monday

After being pounded by heavy rain over the weekend, most parts of the Bihar capital remained submerged even as the state-wide death toll mounted to 25.

In Patna, there has been a let up in rainfall since morning though the sky is overcast and the IMD has predicted showers later in the day.

According to the state disaster management department, six casualties have been reported from Gaya district where five persons were buried alive in a wall collapse while another person was drowned in a river which was in spate because of incessant rains.

In addition, police in the adjoining district of Jehanabad confirmed the death of a three-year-old girl who was crushed to death when the wall of an old house, adjacent to a street where she was playing, caved in.

On Sunday, 18 deaths were reported from across the state in mishaps attributed to the torrential rainfall.

Unconfirmed reports, however, put the death toll at more than 30.

The disaster management department said that the state government has urged the Indian Air Force to send a helicopter for air-dropping of food packets and other relief material in marooned areas.

Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, whose own residence was affected by the deluge, was seen doing the rounds of the city clad in a T-shirt and shorts, and issuing instructions to officials.

The district administration has ordered closure of all schools till October 1 as a preventive measure and warned of strict punishment to those who violated the direction and "put the lives of teachers and students at risk".

District Magistrate Kumar Ravi has said that sump houses were working round theclock to flush out water from inundated streets and pointed out that "a not too high" water level in the Ganga meant that there would be no problem of reverse flow.

Motorcyclists were seen driving through knee-deep waters after covering the silencers of their two-wheelers with plastic bottles and pipes inserted to allow emission of fumes without water entering the exhaust pipes.

At some places, people living in houses situated on either side of a street helped each other with items of daily use which were rolled down on unfurled 'gamchas' (a thin towel), corners of which were held by people standing atop boundary walls.

Patna Nagar Nigam personnel, donning yellow raincoats, could be seen at various spots trying to unclog the manholes that have been choked by polythene and debris  a common sight in the city which has witnessed unregulated construction  which has contributed to the water-logging.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had spoken to P K Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, on September 21 urging him to take steps to check the water level in the Ganges here which had then risen to alarming levels.

More than a million cusecs of water were subsequently released through the Farakka barrage downstream.

Social media has been abuzz with the heart-rending image of a rickshaw-puller who broke down upon being caught in chest-deep water, unable to pull out the vehicle on which he depended for a living.

In the video, a couple  apparently living on the upper story of an adjacent house  can be heard asking the hapless man to rush to a safer spot, assuring him that they will keep a watch on his cycle rickshaw until the water subsided and he was able to take it back.

source: https://www.dailypioneer.com/2019/top-stories/death-toll-reaches-25-in-bihar--imd-predicts-more-rain-on-monday.html

PM Modi calls Trump special person who left lasting impact everywhere

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday introduced US President Donald Trump to the Indian-Americans at the mega 'Howdy, Modi' event here as a very "special person" who has left a deep and lasting impact everywhere.

Addressing over 50,000 Indian-Americans at the NRG stadium, Modi said it was honour and privilege for him to welcome Trump in this magnificent stadium and magnificent gathering.

"Greetings to my fellow Indians in India and around the world. Friends, this morning, we have a very special person with us," Prime Minister Modi said.

"He (Trump) was a household name even before he went to hold the highest seat in he US," Modi said while greeting the US president.

"His name is familiar to every person on the planet. His name comes up almost every conversation in the world on global politics," he said.

"From CEO to Commander in Chief, from boardrooms to the oval office, from studios to the global stage, from politics to the economy and to security, he has left a deep and lasting impact everywhere," Modi said.

Modi said he met Trump a few times and every time he has been warm, friendly, accessibly, energetic and full of wit.

"And I can say I had a chance to meet him often and every time I found the friendliness, the warmth and the energy," he said.

"President this morning in Houston, you can hear the heartbeat of this great partnership in this celebration of the world's two largest democracies," Modi said.

"You can feel the strength and depth of the bonds between our two nations," Modi said.

The prime minister said "the people are at the heart of all relationships. From Houston to Hyderabad, from Boston to Bengaluru, from Chicago to Shimla, from Los Angeles to Ludhiana."

Trump has already made the American economy strong again, Modi said.

"He has achieved much for the US and for the world," Modi said.

"We in India have connected well to him," he said, adding "Abki baar Trump aarkar".

Source: https://www.dailypioneer.com/2019/top-stories/pm-modi-calls-trump-special-person-who-left-lasting-impact-everywhere.html

Modi performs Narmada aarti at Sardar Sarovar dam

On a visit to his home state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who turned 69 on Tuesday, offered prayers to goddess Narmada at the Sardar Sarovar dam.

Accompanied by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Modi offered prayers as part of the state government's Namami Devi Narmade Mahotsav celebrations being held to mark the dam receiving water to its full capacity.

Modi also visited the Butterfly Garden in Kevadiya and named the saffron coloured plain tiger butterfly as the state butterfly.

Modi began the day with a visit to the Statue of Unity and the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the river Narmada.

The Statue of Unity, billed as the tallest in the world, was inaugurated by him on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's birth anniversary on October 31 last year.

He also tweeted a video of the statue, taken from his helicopter.

Modi arrived at Kevadiya on Tuesday morning to take part in the 'Namami Narmada' festival being celebrated by the Gujarat government to mark the filling up of the dam to its full reservoir level of 138.68 metres.

For the first time since the height of the dam was raised in 2017, the water level reached its highest peak at 138.68 metres on Sunday evening.

Modi along with Rupani, then performed 'puja' at the dam site to 'welcome' the water of river Narmada, the lifeline of Gujarat.

The PM, who would be addressing a gathering near the dam, also visited various developmental projects being carried out near the dam and Statue of Unity to boost tourism.

These projects include river rafting, a jungle safari park, a butterfly park and Ekta Nursery, an officil said.

Modi also visited the Khalvani Eco-Tourism site. In the safari, he apparently spotted deer.

He also visited the Dutt Mandir at nearby Garudeshwar village on the banks of Narmada.

source: https://www.dailypioneer.com/2019/top-stories/birthday-boy-modi-visits-statue-of-unity-in-home-state.html

ISRO racing against time to salvage lander-rover part of Chandrayaan-2 mission

ISRO is racing against time to spring 'Vikram' back to lifeand salvage the lander-rover part of the Chandrayaan-2 mission.

The lander Vikram, with rover 'Pragyan' tucked inside it, lost communication with the ground-stations during its final descent, just 2.1 kms above the lunar surface, minutes before the planned soft-landing in the early hours of Saturday.

ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) said on Sunday Vikram had a "hard-landing".
The Bengaluru-headquarterd space agency on Tuesday again confirmed that the lander has been located on the lunar surface by the on-board cameras of the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter which is circling the moon in its intended orbit.

"All possible efforts are being made to establish communication with (the) lander", ISRO further said in a tweet.

A senior ISRO official associated with the mission said: "The images from the orbiter camera showed that Vikram is in single piece lying on the lunar surface; not broken into pieces. It is in a tilted position. It's not in its four legs, as usual".

This official added on condition of anonymity: "it's not upside down. It's lying on its side".

ISRO officially did not comment on the condition of the lander.

Chandrayaan-2 comprises an orbiter, lander (Vikram) and rover (Pragyan).

The mission life of the lander and rover is one Lunar day, which is equal to 14 earth days.

ISRO Chairman K Sivan said on Saturday evening that the space agency would try to restore link with the lander for 14 days and it has been reiterating the resolve since then.

An ISRO official said Vikram hit the lunar surface at a place about 500 metres away from where it was originally planned to touch-down.

But there was no official word on this from ISRO.

Sources said an ISRO team is trying to see if they can reorient the antennas of the lander in such a way that communication can be restored.

"Efforts are going on", they said.

According to a senior ISRO official, orientation may have been lost during the final descent when velocity was reduced, due "sensor or on-board software or computer anomaly".

"A committee is looking into what has gone wrong. They will come out with answers soon", this official said.

Meanwhile, flawless and precise launch and efficient management of the Chandrayaan-2 mission ---- till the lander 'Vikram' lost communication with ground-stations --, has paid rich dividends to the ISRO on the orbiter front.

The 2,379 kg orbiter whose mission life was designed to be one year would now be able function for almost seven years.

"Enough fuel is available with the orbiter. Up to (lunar) orbit insertion, we did not have any flaw. Additional fuel which was anticipated was not used at all. Everything went as per the plan. Additional fuel is available with us (on-board the orbiter)", an ISRO official said.

Another ISRO official said, "One of the limiting factor is on-board fuel availability. Because the performance of GSLV-MK III (which launched the spacecraft) and efficient mission management, we have enough fuel for continuing it forward for seven years."

The space agency also said, the precise launch and mission management has ensured a long life of almost seven years instead of the planned one year for the orbiter.

ISRO had said 90 to 95 per cent of the Chandrayaan-2 mission objectives have been accomplished and it would continue to contribute to Lunar science , notwithstanding the loss of communication with the Lander which hit lunar surface after failing in its planned attempt to soft-land in the early hours of Saturday.

Noting that Chandrayaan-2 mission was a highly complex one, which represented a significant technological leap compared to the previous missions of ISRO, the space agency said it brought together an orbiter, lander and rover to explore the unexplored south pole of the Moon.

This was a unique mission which aimed at studying not just one area of the Moon but all the areas combining the exosphere, the surface as well as the sub-surface of the moon in a single mission, it added.

Source: https://www.dailypioneer.com/2019/india/nasa-ready-to-jointly-explore-solar-system-with-isro.html