Cloudburst flattens houses, bridge in Uttarakhand
Dehradun, August 10 (IANS): Around half-a-dozen houses and a bridge were flattened in an overnight cloudburst in Bangapani area in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district, officials said on Thursday. More than two dozen cattle were washed away in the rains that followed the cloudburst at Kanar and the debris of the houses are being searched to ascertain if there was any loss of life. Rains continued to wreak havoc in many other parts of Uttarakhand and landslides have been reported from many places. More than 100 link roads continue to be in shambles, with vast regions in the hill tracts remaining cut off. More than 20 meters of the highway at Pinola between Joshimath and Govindghat was washed away in the rains, affecting the Hemkund Sahib and Badrinath annual pilgrimage.
LeT militant arrested in Kashmir
Srinagar, August 10 (IANS): A Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant was arrested on Thursday in Jammu and Kashmir's Sopore town, police said. Police said a pistol, two magazines and three cartridges were seized from Ishfaq Ahmad Kanna, a Sopore resident. The accused had evaded a joint checkpost set up by police, Rashtriya Rifles and Central Reserve Police Force on Seer Amargarh road leading to the Sopore railway station and entered a nearby orchard. Security forces surrounded the orchard and arrested him.
Five hospitalized after Haryana gas leak
Chandigarh, August 10 (IANS): Over 30 persons were affected on Thursday following a suspected chlorine gas leak in Haryana's Panchkula town near here. Five of them had to be hospitalized, officials said. The leak took place from the Sector 20 waterworks, which is managed by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA). Victims complained of uneasiness, itching in eyes and other problems and were rushed to the General Hospital. Officials said the leak affected people living nearby. The area was cordoned off by the authorities.
RJD leader shot dead in Bihar
Patna, August 10 (IANS): A Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader in Bihar was shot dead here on Thursday by unidentified assailants, police said. Kedar Rai was out on his morning walk in Danapur near here when the attack took place, the police said. "It appears to be the work of a sharpshooter," a police officer added. A seriously injured Rai was rushed to a hospital but declared brought dead. Rai was considered close to RJD chief Lalu Prasad.
Two boys die while taking selfie in Jharkhand
Ranchi, August 10 (IANS): Two boys died after they fell into a waterfall here on Thursday while taking a selfie, police said. The boys and a girl had gone to Jonha waterfall, 40 km from Ranchi. All three were taking a selfie when they lost balance and fell. The girl was saved by locals but the boys, identified as Divyaan and Sameer, drowned, the police said.
Kerala Education Minister C. Raveendranath informed the state legislative assembly on Thursday that over 50 per cent of seats in engineering colleges in the state were lying vacant. "We are expecting a report from the Justice K. Dineshan Commission and, once we get that, a master plan to revamp courses in the professional sector (engineering) would be put in place," said the college professor-turned-CPI(M) Minister in reply to a question in the house. Raveendranath's office told IANS that of the 60,000 sanctioned seats in these colleges more than 30,000 seats were lying vacant. According to official figures, 5.44 per cent of the seats are in the state-run government colleges, 3.06 per cent of the seats in state-aided sector and the remaining seats are in colleges under private management. Raveendranath informed the assembly that it was time for a major revamp of the professional education sector in the state.
