Slap on the face of the BJP: The BJP is carrying the ashes of Atal Bihari Vajpayee around the country for votes. Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh and  his cabinet never remembered him until now especially when he had created the state, says Karuna Shukla, Vajpayee's niece and Congress leader.

The Kerala government has requested for additional medical teams and setting up of field hospitals. Army is moving medical assets in addition to the 12 teams already deployed. Total of approximately 3000 people have received medical aid till now.


Landslips and heavy rains unleashed in Kerala forests causing flooding in downstream did not have any major impact on its precious wildlife including elephants, tigers and leopards, a top state forest official said today. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests P K Kesavan said generally animals have got a "strong sixth sense" and they become "alert" at the time of any unusual changes in the nature helping them escape to safety at the time of its fury. "As of now, no serious issues," Kesavan told PTI.


Image: The Indian Army is moving medical assets in addition to the 12 teams already deployed to Kerala. A total of approximately 3000 people have received medical aid till now. Picture courtesy: @adgpi

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddharamaiah visited rain and landslide affected areas in Kodagu district today. With rehabilitaton work in full swing in rain-ravaged Kodagu, the Karnataka government said all efforts would be made to restore normalcy at the earliest in the district where torrential rains that lashed the district last week have claimed 12 lives.


Social Welfare Minister Priyank Kharge announced Rs 25 crore aid towards relief measures.


"The social welfare ministry has reserved a care  package of Rs 25 crore. We hope this will address immediate needs. The road to recovery will be hard and long, but we will try restore normalcy sooner than later," he said in a statement.


Thousands have been rendered homeless in the rains that left a trail of destruction. Several houses were inundated and people affected. The government is making every effort to rescue and provide relief to those marooned, Kharge said.


He directed officials of the social welfare department to tour the district and assess the damage caused by the unprecedented rains.


"The department will survey and take immediate action as soon as the rains subside, " he said.The National Disaster Response Force personnel are working in in tandem with the state government to carry out relief operations. Police personnel have also been engaged, he added.


Repair on roads was going on in full swing at Jodupala and surrounding areas bordering Dakshina Kannada and Kodagu districts, which had been  severely hit by flash floods and landslides last week.


Fire and rescue service personnel, police, forest department staff and volunteers are carrying out rescue operations at Jodupala. Earthmovers have been engaged to remove huge boulders blocking the highway, Puttur assistant commissioner Krishnamurthy said.


An official release said NGOs and members of the local community in Kodagu are also involved in rescue operations, which has so far saved 4,450 people.


As many as 70 earthmovers have been deployed to clear debris and 20 four-wheel drive vehicles deployed for quick movement of rescue teams, it said. Two doctors with paramedics are posted in every relief camp, where hygiene was being monitored by health inspectors to prevent any outbreak of disease, the release said.


For restoration and rehabilitation, a three member team from NGRI (National Geophysical Research Institute) visited Kodagu and set up a seismic monitoring center at a school to closely monitor seismic activity there, the release said. -- PTI

Rains have subsided in Kerala, but there seems to be no end to the destruction caused by the floods and landslides, which claimed over 230 lives since August 8.


A bleak, uncertain future stares at the nearly 13 lakh people currently taking shelter at the relief camps in the state.


"Everything is lost. We are ruined," said an elderly woman, fighting back her tears. Many houses are still under water and the ones which are not have broken pots and pans strewn everywhere with a multitude of problems plaguing them.


Sabitha, who has registered at a camp in Pandalam, said she had a small shed for a home and now that too has been ruined due to the rains. "Muddy waters entered my home when I was asleep with my son. I grabbed my child and escaped in the nick of time," she said.


Seventy-five-year old Chellama was preparing to celebrate Kerala's harvest festival Onam on August 25 when the disaster struck. "I had bought rice, coconuts and other provision as Onam was round the corner. I could not save anything," she said.


Jalaja, who returned to her small house from the camp at Pandanad near Chengannur, believes her home is in no condition to move back into. The only toilet in the house was overflowing and the well water was dirty.


"The well has to be cleaned. We need water to drink and to prepare food. The toilet has to be repaired. After all this, we can think of moving back", she said.


Many women have no clothes to wear. "I left home in a hurry with my family. Since the last five days I am wearing the same clothes. Please give us something clean to wear," said a woman, voicing the demand of thousands' of women.


Clothes like nighties and lungies are most sought after in relief camps, according to authorities. There has been no rain in the past three days, however flood water is yet to recede from many places.


The situation is particularly critical in Kuttanad, which is one of the few places in the world where paddy farming is done 1.2 metre to 3 metre below sea level. Flood waters receding is not the panacea for all ills.


As waters subsided in Cheruthoni in Idukki district, many were shocked to see huge deposits of sand and slush inside and outside their homes. Many cannot even open the doors of their homes.


Earth-movers are being used at many places to remove the accumulated mud and sand. The heavy rains and consequent floods have claimed 231 lives since August 8, besides causing an estimated loss of Rs 20,000 crore to the state. --  PTI


Image: A woman clings on to her son after they were evacuated from a flooded area in Aluva in Kerala on August 18. Photograph: Sivaram V/Reuters

Symbolising the spirit of communal harmony in times of distress, Suntikoppa, a small town in Karnataka has turned its church, temple and madrasa, into relief camps to help flood victims in Kodagu district.


Many videos have gone viral depicting inhabitants of Suntikoppa in the rain-ravaged Kodagu district turning a Shiva temple, St Mary's church and a madrasa, nearby one another, into relief camps in which around 600 affected people are sheltered.


Food was also being cooked in a common place at the community kitchen in the madrasa and being provided to the sheltered people in the temple and the church, residents said.


This act, testifying to the spirit of communal harmony, has prompted many leaders including Congress president Rahul Gandhi to lavish praise on Suntikoppa inhabitants.


In a tweet posted on Tuesday, Gandhi said, "In Kodagu, Karnataka, massive floods have unleashed a trail of devastation. But amidst the gloom, here's a great story about an oasis of hope, a small town, Suntikoppa, where Shiv, Ram, Christ, Allah and the Buddha are working together to help those in need.This is India!"


Speaking to the media,a priest at St Marys church said more than 200 marooned people have been accommodated in church premises.


"We have collected the details of flood victims staying with us. We will prepare a list and submit it to the state government for providing help to them," he said.


Tibetan monks have also chipped in providing relief materials, including water. Bylakuppe in Kodagu district houses a large Tibetan settlement.


Not far behind from the rest, RSS workers also have been actively participating in reliefwork.


The Sangh has formed volunteer groups helping set up relief camps and evacuating distressed people caught in the rain fury by constructing makeshift wooden pathways, videos of which also have gone viral on social media.


Image: Water gushes over a bridge in Kodagu town.

The Indian economy is expected to grow by around 7.5 per cent in 2018 and 2019 as it is largely resilient to external pressures like those from higher oil prices, Moody's Investors Service said today. In its Global Macro Outlook for 2018-19, Moody's said the run-up in energy prices over the last few months will raise headline inflation temporarily but the growth story remains intact as it is supported by strong urban and rural demand and improved industrial activity. -- PTI

Daily use of e-cigarettes combined with traditional smoking can lead to a five-fold increase in the odds of heart attack, according to study which also found that vaping alone doubles the risk.


The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, examined the relationship between e-cigarette use and heart attacks, and begins to fill the understanding of the effects of e-cigarettes on long-term health.


"Most adults who use e-cigarettes continue to smoke cigarettes," said senior author Stanton Glantz, a professor at University of California - San Francisco in the US. "While people may think they are reducing their health risks, we found that the heart attack risk of e-cigarettes adds to the risk of smoking cigarettes," Glantz said.


"Using both products at the same time is worse than using either one separately. Someone who continues to smoke daily while using e-cigarettes daily increases the odds of a heart attack by a factor of five," he said.
-- PTI

In Amritsar, school children celebrate Raksha bandhan with jawans of the Border Security Force Attari-Wagah border. The festival falls on August 26 this year. 

One person was killed and two others were seriously injured in an explosion at a Trinamool Congress office at Makrampur in Midnapore district, official sources said.


The identity of the deceased and the injured was not immediately known, they said. The explosion took place at around 10 am. The injured were admitted to a hospital and the police have cordoned off the area.


The sources said it was also not known whether a crude bomb had exploded or a gas cylinder inside the party office led to the incident. Pradyut Ghosh, TMC MLA of Narayangarh, said that the cause of the explosion could not be ascertained till noon and the police were looking into it. -- PTI

In his more than two decade career as an Indian Navy officer and 19 years of service as a pilot, Commander Vijay Varma has been involved in several rescue missions including three flood affected areas in India.


The Kerala floods, Commander Varma tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier, has been the most challenging as far as distance and scale of operations is concerned. The commander became a hero after the miraculous rescue of a pregnant woman whose water had broken. Two hours later, she delivered a baby boy.

Read the report here.

The Supreme Court today sought a response from the Election Commission of India on pleas of Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Sachin Pilot alleging duplication of voters in the voters' list in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh and Rajsthan.


A bench of Justice A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan issued notice to the ECI and the state election commission of MP and Rajasthan and posted the matter for further hearing on August 31.


During the hearing, senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Nath and Pilot, said that Nath had conducted a survey on his own cost in Madhya Pradesh and found that there were over 60 lakh duplicate voters in the voters' list.


He said there was a similar situation in Rajasthan where large numbers of duplicate voters have been found. In his plea, Nath has also sought random verification of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines in the upcoming MP assembly polls. -- PTI

Arun Jaitley, 65, who had stopped attending office a month-and-half before the May 14 renal surgery, came to North Block -- the seat of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs -- at 1100 hrs in his white Tata Safari accompanied by his personal staff.


Wearing a smile, Jaitley went straight to his first-floor office, which had been renovated and sanitised to suit his present condition. He was greeted by a host of officials and his deputies. He acknowledged them with folded hands and also waved at people waiting for him.


Jaitley started work after getting a clearance from his doctors, official sources said. He met senior officials in both the ministries including Finance Secretary Hashmukh Adhia as also the chairpersons of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC).


Sources said doctors have advised him to cut his public interaction to the minimum to protect him from contracting any infection. The limited visitors to his room are required to cover their shoes with the blue plastic bags that are used in hospitals.


Jaitley had undergone a renal transplant operation on May 14. On that day, the charge of his ministry was given to Minister for Railways and Coal Piyush Goyal on an interim basis. Jaitley had remained a minister without portfolio in the Narendra Modi government since then. -- PTI


Image: Arun Jaitley met with finance secretaries in North Block, today.

"The Big Bang Theory" is set to bow out with its finale season in 2019. According to CNN, producer Warner Bros Television and channel CBS have announced that the comedy's upcoming season 12 will be its last. The show, headlined by original cast members Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, and Kunal Nayyar, will conclude as the longest-running multi-camera sitcom, with 279 episodes, in TV history.


"We are forever grateful to our fans for their support of 'The Big Bang Theory' during the past 12 seasons. "We, along with the cast, writers and crew, are extremely appreciative of the show's success and aim to deliver a final season, and series finale, that will bring 'The Big Bang Theory' to an epic creative close," Warner Bros Television, CBS and Chuck Lorre Productions said in a joint statement.


The development comes days after CBS Entertainment head Kelly Kahl said that the company and Warner Bros TV were discussing renewing the show beyond its upcoming twelfth season. Cuoco also expressed an interest in returning for a 13th run. Also starring Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch, the final season of the Emmy-winning show debuts September 24. -- PTI

Ambient air pollution shortens an average Indian's life by over 1.5 years, say scientists who suggest that better air quality could lead to a significant extension of human lifespan around the world.


Researchers said that if PM2.5 concentrations worldwide were limited to the World Health Organization's (WHO) air quality guideline concentration of 10 microgrammes per square cubic metre, the global life expectancy would be on average 0.59 year longer. The benefit of reaching the stringent target would be especially large in countries with the highest current levels of pollution, with approximately 0.8-1.4 years of additional survival in countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and China.


This is the first time data on air pollution and lifespan has been studied together in order to examine the global variations to find out how they affect the overall life expectancy. -- PTI

Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha @YashwantSinha tweets, "I appeal to all leaders to refrain from discussing our internal issues abroad. PM broke this rule first. Others need not follow his example."

This is likely a reference to Congress president Rahul Gandhi's speech in Hamburg, Germany, where he spoke about lynchings and demonetisation  and essentially domestic issues.


Gandhi on Wednesday night, while addressing a gathering at Germanys Hamburg, at the Bucerius Summer School, his alma mater, said, "Couple of years back, the Prime Minister demonetised the Indian economy and destroyed the cash flow of all MSMEs and millions of people who worked in the informal sector were left unemployed. A large number of people who worked in small businesses were forced back into villages. This is what's making people angry. All the lynchings we hear about are the result of this."


As far back as 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing the Indian diaspora at the Sultan Qaboos Satidum in Oman's capital Muscat created controversy because of his barb at the Opposition, Congress. He accused the previous Congress governments of ruining the image of the country with scams. "No one can accuse my government of corruption," he had said.


In Canada, in  April 2015, the PM had said that henceforth India will be known as "skill" India, not "scam" India.

Satya Pal Malik has been sworn-in as the Governor of Jammu & Kashmir. Malik replaces incumbent NN Vohra, who has occupied the J&K Raj Bhavan since 2008. 

Arun Jaitley arrives at Ministry of Finance to resume charge as Finance Minister. Jaitely, 65, stopped attending office in April for a renal transplant operation on May 14. In his absence, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal held charge of his ministry.

People pay last respects to senior Congress leader Gurudas Kamat at his residence in Mumbai. He passed away in a Delhi hospital yesterday.

West Bengal: State BJP President Dilip Ghosh and BJP MP Roopa Ganguly take part in 'Asthi Kalash Yatra' of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Kolkata.

The Kerala government will organize a farewell for various defence forces who helped in relief and rescue operations during the recent unprecedented floods in the state, announced Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan while addressing a presser on Wednesday evening.


The Chief Minister said, "The government has decided to organise a farewell on August 26 to express its love and gratitude towards the various defence forces that helped in relief and rescue operations in the state".


Indian Air Force, Navy and Army deployed defence personnel including medical teams, engineers, paratroopers and divers to help during relief and rescue operations in Kerala.


Commenting on the initial warnings and efforts made by the government before the unprecedented floods, the Kerala Chief Minister said, "On July 30 water levels were below orange alert and till August 7 water was receding, on August 8 heavy rain started and water levels began to increase. On August 15 Mullaperiyar Dam was opened. Nobody could have foreseen this but still, warnings were given and evacuations were done."


With flood water receding and no latest forecast of heavy rainfall in the state, the coastal region is making efforts to return towards normalcy.
-- ANI




Image: The Indian Army's twitter handle, @adgpi posted this picture of rescue and rehab ops in Kerala saying, "The mother of the 45 day old baby was all in tears when men in uniform arrived at their doorstep. She was quick to handover the child to #IndianArmy personnel from 19 Madras Regiment trusting them with her child more than herself.We are at it. #OpMadad"

Cochin International Airport will start operations from August 29, announced Cochin International Airport Limited on Wednesday evening.


On Wednesday a meeting was held at CIAL to review the damage control activities at Kochi Airport. The information released by CIAL after the consultation reads that during the meeting most of the stakeholders including airlines and ground handling agencies expressed their concerns over organizing their manpower.


CIAL informed, "In view of concerns expressed by stakeholders of airlines and ground staff that 90 per cent of their staffers got affected by the flood, CIAL has decided to extend the date of resuming operations for three more days and operations will start on August 29."


Air traffic to and from Kerala's Cochin International Airport was completely halted due to flash floods on August 19. Kerala witnessed unprecedented devastating floods in recent times. As much as 357 people reported dead due to flood and landslide in Kerala. -- ANI


Image: A file pic of the flooded runway of the Kochi airport which has remained closed since August 19.

The rupee today fell 27 paise against the dollar to trade near 70.08 again amid strong demand for the US currency after the US Fed released minutes of its policy meet yesterday.


At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the local currency opened at a low of 70.03 a dollar, down from its previous close of 69.81, and weakened further to trade at a 70.08, down by 27 paise. Forex dealers said increased demand for the US currency from importers and its gains against other currencies overseas on expectations of rising US interest rates, put pressure on the rupee.

Rajnath Singh: Saddened by the demise of senior journalist, columnist &  former MP, Shri Kuldeep Nayyar. As a columnist he candidly expressed his views in his widely read column Between the Lines. His contribution to journalism will be remembered. My thoughts are with his bereaved family.


Sagarika Ghose: Rest In Peace #KuldeepNayyar sir. You will always remain an inspiration.


Ashok Gehlot: Shocked and deeply saddened to hear of the sudden demise of Senior Congress leader Sh. Gurudas Kamat ji. His passing away is an irreparable loss for us. My heartfelt condolences to his family members, may god give them strength to bear this loss. May his soul Rest in peace.


Rajyavardhan Rathore: Saddened by the demise of veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar. A scholar, a prolific author and former MP, he leaves behind a rich legacy in the field of journalism.


Shekhar Gupta: RIP Kuldip Nayar, Indias first reporter to become editor in an era when top newsroom jobs were reserved for editorialists. A genuine scoop-man, and Ind-Pak peace visionary. You will be missed by journalists and peace activists.


President of India: Sad to hear of the passing of Kuldip Nayar, veteran editor and writer, diplomat and parliamentarian, and a determined champion of democracy during the Emergency. His readers will miss him. Condolences to his family and associates #PresidentKovind


Shahid Siddiqui: Shocked to hear the passing away of veteran journalist, Kuldip Nayyar.He was a pillar of Indian Democracy, Secularism and a fighter for peace in the subcontinent. Its a huge loss for the nation. A personal loss for me he was a father, friend and teacher for me. RIP



Narendra Modi: Kuldip Nayar was an intellectual giant of our times. Frank and fearless in his views, his work spanned across many decades. His strong stand against the Emergency, public service and commitment to a better India will always be remembered. Saddened by his demise. My condolences.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday will conduct an in-person review of the functioning of relief camps in Chengannur, Kozhencherry, Alappuzha, North Paravoor and Chalakudy.


Nearly 10 lakh people have taken shelter in a number of relief camps, set up by the administration across the state. Kerala is reeling under the massive devastation caused by flash floods from the onset of monsoon.


In order to help Kerala limp back to normalcy, Centre and several states have announced aid from their relief funds.


As many as 357 people have lost their lives so far, with the state facing a loss of Rs 19,512 crore. Rescue and relief operations in the state has been stepped up to evacuate the stranded people from the flood-affected areas.
-- ANI

Kuldip Nayar, veteran journalist and private secretary of then PM Shastri, passed away last night. He was 95 years old. His cremation is at 1 pm at Lodhi.