Tag: Tamil Nadu

  • Heavy rains in Chennai flooded airport, leaving 8 dead, thousands affected

    Heavy rains in Chennai flooded airport, leaving 8 dead, thousands affected

    Cyclone Michaung was expected to make landfall on the coast of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh around noon on Tue­sday, the country’s weather office said, with sustained winds of 90-100kph (56-62mph), gusting to 110kph.

    The cyclone was forecast to hit the coast of Andhra Pradesh state later Tuesday as a “severe cyclonic storm”, packing winds up to 100 kilometres, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

    In Chennai, cars were seen floating on raging torrents, homes were flooded, and a crocodile was spotted swimming the streets in the city.

    In some parts of the flooded city, people used boats to get out of their flooded neighbourhoods to the safety of government relief shelters.

    The IMD warned of “exceptionally heavy rainfall” in some areas.

    “We are facing the worst storm in recent memory,” Tamil Nadu state chief minister M.K. Stalin said, in a statement late Monday.

    Police said on Tuesday that eight people had been killed in the state capital of Chennai.

    They included some who drowned, as well as one person hit by a falling tree, another electrocuted by live wires in the water, and one crushed by a falling wall.

    Trees were uprooted and vehicles swept away due to the heavy rains, according to images posted on social media.

    Apple iPhone manufacturers Foxconn and Pegatron and automaker Hyundai suspended their operations in Tamil Nadu due to the storm, local media reported.

    The cyclone is expected to hit India’s southeast coast near the town of Bapatla, on the 300-kilometre (185-mile) stretch between Nellore and Machilipatnam.

    Hundreds of people from coastal villages in the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh have moved inland, with emergency rescue teams deployed to deal with the aftermath of the cyclone’s landfall, according to local media.

    Sea surges of waves up to 1.5 metres (nearly five feet) above normal tide levels are expected when the cyclone makes landfall, the IMD said.

    Home Minister Amit Shah said the government was “braced to provide all the necessary assistance to Andhra Pradesh”, with rescue teams deployed and more “on standby to mobilise as needed”.

    The cyclone is expected to weaken late Tuesday.

    Scientists have warned that storms are becoming more powerful as the world gets warmer with climate change.

    Cyclones — the equivalent of hurricanes in the North Atlantic or typhoons in the Northwest Pacific — are a regular and deadly menace on coasts in the northern Indian Ocean, where tens of millions of people live.

    Schools, colleges, offices and banks were closed on Monday and Tuesday in at least four districts of Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, because of weather conditions, a government notice said.

  • Bride commits suicide because of no toilet at husband’s home

    Bride commits suicide because of no toilet at husband’s home

    A 27-year-old woman allegedly died by suicide over her husband’s inability to set up a toilet in their house, reports India Times.

    Ramya from Tamil Nadu in India, a pharmacist by profession, got married to Karthikeyan on April 6.

    It was reported that right after a day of their marriage, Ramya returned to her mother’s house as there was no functional toilet at her husband’s place.

    Despite her husband’s reassurances that he would rent a house with a toilet facility, he never fulfilled any promise. Subsequently, Ramya, disheartened and disappointed, committed suicide on May 10. Her mother found her hanging from her sari.

    She was rushed to the hospital and was admitted there for two days but she eventually passed away on Tuesday.

    Ramya’s mother lodged a complaint against Karthikeyan. However, as per the media report, police are investigating her father’s role in her being upset as he did not approve of the marriage and had not attended any of the events.

  • Bride calls off marriage after groom slaps her for dancing with her male cousin

    Bride calls off marriage after groom slaps her for dancing with her male cousin

    A bride canceled her wedding after her husband-to-be slapped her for dancing with her male cousin during their wedding function in the Indian state, Tamil Nadu.

    The incident happened when the couple was dancing together and the bride’s cousin held their hands and joined them in the dance too.

    The groom was infuriated when her cousin put his hands on their shoulders during the dance. The groom pushed the bride away from her cousin.

    The family of the bride claimed that the groom slapped her in the presence of everyone when she was going up on the stage with the groom. The bride immediately called off her wedding over his intolerable attitude.

    Afterward, she got married to her relative who was present at the wedding function on the same scheduled date and time but at a different venue.

    However, the groom lodged the complaint against the bride’s family in Panruti all-women police station and demanded INR 700,000 as compensation which was spent on the wedding expenditures.

  • Man kills newborn, injures wife trying to deliver baby at home with YouTube videos

    Man kills newborn, injures wife trying to deliver baby at home with YouTube videos

    The Health Department in Tamil Nadu’s Ranipet district has registered a complaint after a man allegedly tried to help his wife deliver a baby at home with the help of YouTube videos, as a result of which the woman gave birth to a stillborn.

    Lokanathan (32), who runs a small store at Panapakkam near Nemili in the district, allegedly relied on YouTube videos to help his wife Gomathi (28) deliver their baby.

    The Nemili police said they are conducting inquiries, but no one has been booked yet. “The family members said the delivery was done with Gomathi’s permission and that there was nothing wrong on the part of Lokanathan, so we have not booked anyone yet. We are conducting the inquiry, further action will be taken based on its outcome,” said a police official from Nemili station.

    Police said that the woman was due to give birth on December 13. On December 18, she experienced labour pain, but instead of visiting the hospital, Lokanathan decided to help her deliver the baby at home. He sought the help of his sister Geetha and they also watched YouTube videos. After a long struggle, Gomathi delivered a stillborn male. Since she was bleeding profusely, her husband took her to a Primary Health Centre nearby, from where they were sent to the Vellore Government Hospital.

  • Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat dies in army helicopter crash

    Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat dies in army helicopter crash

    Indian Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat died in a helicopter crash in the southern state of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, the Indian Air Force (IAF) said.

    “With deep regret, it has now been ascertained that Gen Bipin Rawat, Mrs Madhulika Rawat and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accident,” tweeted the IAF.

    Reacting to the news, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and wrote: “I am deeply anguished by the helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu in which we have lost Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and other personnel of the Armed Forces. They served India with utmost diligence. My thoughts are with the bereaved families.”

    13 out of 14 people died. Gp Capt Varun Singh SC, Directing Staff at DSSC with injuries is currently under treatment at Military Hospital, Wellington.

    CDS General Bipin Rawat was the highest-serving official in the Indian armed forces, who was appointed to the newly created post of CDS, a day before he was set to retire as the army chief on December 31, 2019. As part of his new assignment, Gen Rawat was heading the new Department of Military Affairs in the Defence Ministry.

    In Dec 2015, the Modi government had appointed Gen Rawat as the army chief by superseding two senior officers.

    Earlier today, an Indian Army helicopter with Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and other senior Indian defence officials on board crashed in Tamil Nadu’s Coonoor.

  • Indian army helicopter with Defence General Bipin Rawat on board crashes

    An Indian Army helicopter with Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and other senior Indian defence officials on board crashed in Tamil Nadu’s Coonoor on Wednesday.

    “An IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter, with CDS Gen Bipin Rawat on board, met with an accident today near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu,” confirmed the Indian Air Force official Twitter account.

    Indian news agency ANI tweeted about the crash, saying that 14 people in total were on board the chopper, including the Indian defence assistant, IAF pilots and security commandos. 

    The latest visuals shared from the place of the crash clearly show the amount of damage done to the crash.

  • Man arrested for eating a snake, claims ‘kept COVID-19 at bay’

    Man arrested for eating a snake, claims ‘kept COVID-19 at bay’

    A man from India’s Tamil Nadu ate a dead snake to “protect” himself from contracting the COVID-19.

    The  50-year-old Vadivel was arrested and charged with a fine of Rs 7,000 after he posted a video of him eating a poisonous snake on social media.

    He claimed that snakes are good antidotes to Covid-19 and keep the deadly virus at bay.

    As per reports, the man caught the reptile in a field and killed it before eating it.

    ‘Mouse plague’ in Australia: Mice crawl into beds and bite residents

    A forest officer in Madurai district said the agriculture worker had been prompted to eat the snake by other people. He had been drunk at the time of the incident.

    Fortunately, the man didn’t bite into the venom glands of the snake, identified as a common krait, a species of highly venomous reptiles native to the Indian subcontinent.

    Its venom consists of powerful neurotoxins that can even be fatal for humans if not treated. The reptile had been found dead in a drain, the forest officer said.

    Warning: This video contains graphic content.

  • Indian couple gets married on plane to avoid COVID restrictions

    Indian couple gets married on plane to avoid COVID restrictions

    Following a drastic increase in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, India has imposed a strict lockdown to curb the virus spread hindering the plans of those who had organised traditional and fancy Indian weddings.

    A couple hailing from Tamil Nadu did not bother even for a raging pandemic and seems to have decided nothing would stand in the way of their special day.

    Rakesh and Dakshina bucked restrictions in their home state to charter a SpiceJet flight from Madurai to Bangalore, along with over a hundred guests, so they could get married in mid-air with all their relatives and friends.

    The couple reportedly waited until the aircraft was flying over the Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple to bless their union.

    India Today reported that the couple had actually tied the knot in a private ceremony held earlier, but decided to host a ceremony onboard an aircraft to make their big day ‘memorable’.

    Read more – Bride marries wedding guest after groom-to-be ‘disappears’

    The couple claimed that all passengers on board were their relatives who had taken the COVID-19 test and presented negative test results.

    An airport director confirmed to ANI that a SpiceJet chartered flight had been booked from Madurai but said officials were unaware of the mid-air marriage ceremony.

  • 16-year-old dies playing PUBG

    16-year-old dies playing PUBG

    A 16-year-old boy from Indian state of Tamil Nadu has died of a cardiac arrest while playing popular online multiplayer game Player Unknown’s Battleground (PUBG).

    The deceased, Sathish Kumar, was a second year textile designing student at a polytechnic college.

    Reportedly, the cause of cardiac arrest was intensive involvement in the game for six long hours, after which he collapsed. He started shouting hysterically before collapsing and was taken to a local hospital where he was declared dead.

    There is a common belief that the game causes undue stress and tension that has led to the death of Kumar and a few others. There is a lack of evidence in this regard but video games like these have been known to cause aggression and depression.

    Multiple deaths of PUBG players have been reported previously and playing such games for too long is not recommended.

    While no such incidents have been reported in Pakistan, the death comes days after the Lahore High Court (LHC) directed Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to decide whether PUBG should be banned in the country.

    The court was hearing a petition filed by a citizen, Faizan Maqsood, against the online game, seeking its removal from the Google Play Store. The petition said that the game had a negative impact on children and their personalities leading to violent tendencies. The petition stated that the game also had a negative impact on decision making skills of children.

    If PTA does go forward with the ban, Pakistan would not be the first country to take such action as some other countries have already banned the popular online game. Jordan is one of the countries which banned PUBG over its “negative effects”.