Delhi Drainage Master Plan Inadequate To Deal With Crises: Rajya Sabha Told

Delhi's existing drainage master plan, which was prepared in 1976, is not adequate to deal with "crisis situations", the Rajya Sabha was told on Monday.

Last month, Delhi grappled with unprecedented waterlogging and flooding. Initially, a downpour caused intense waterlogging on July 8 and 9, with the city receiving 125 per cent of its monthly rainfall quota in just two days.

Subsequently, heavy rain in the river's upper catchment areas, including Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Haryana, led to the Yamuna swelling to record levels.

In a written reply to a question, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, "The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) has informed that Drainage Master Plan for Delhi was prepared in 1976 and stated that the existing Drainage Master Plan is not adequate to deal with crisis situations in Delhi." 

The written question asked by Rajya Sabha MP Mohammed Nadimul Haque was regarding whether the existing drainage master plan is adequate to deal with crisis situations like the floods and waterlogging in the national capital territory of Delhi.

Mr Puri said the Delhi government also informed that in 2018, the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi had proposed a draft drainage master plan.

"The GNCTD has stated that Delhi now needs a comprehensive new Drainage Master Plan," the minister said, adding that it has also informed that select low lying areas have been identified.

In the light of climatic changes taking place, including high intensity rainfall events, this issue assumes even higher importance.

"This requires concerted efforts on part of all agencies concerned namely Public Works Department, GNCTD, Irrigation and Flood Control Department, GNCTD, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, New Delhi Municipal Council, Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation, Delhi Jal Board, Delhi Cantonment Board and Delhi Development Authority," Mr Puri's reply read.

At 208.66 metres on July 13, the Yamuna surpassed its previous record of 207.49 metres set in September 1978. It breached embankments and penetrated deeper into the city than it had in more than four decades.

The consequences of the floods led to 27,000 people being evacuated from their homes. The losses incurred in terms of property, businesses and earnings have run into crores of rupees.

Experts had attributed the unprecedented flooding in Delhi to encroachment on the river's floodplain, extreme rainfall within a short span of time and silt accumulation that has raised the riverbed.

Yamuna's catchment area covers parts of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi.

The low-lying areas near the river in Delhi, inhabited by around 41,000 people, are considered prone to flooding.

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"People Wearing Khadi Were Seen As...": PM Modi Hails Development In Handloom Sector

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that his government was working to revive the domestic textile sector and after 2014, efforts were made to change the mindset that had developed where people looked down on those who donned khadi clothes.

PM Modi was speaking at the ninth National Handloom Day at 'Bharat Mandapam' in the Pragati Maidan complex.

"After independence, much importance was not given to strengthening the cloth industry (Khadi), which was so strong during the last century...the situation was that it was left to die...people who wore Khadi were looked upon with inferiority complex...," PM Modi said.

"Since 2014, our government has been working on changing this mindset," the Prime Minister said.

"In the past 9 years, Khadi production has increased by 3 times and sales of Khadi clothes also increased by 5 times. The handloom business turnover has increased from around Rs 30,000 crore to over Rs 1,30,000 crore and the demand for Khadi clothes increasing in foreign countries," PM Modi said.

The Prime Minister urged people to popularise local products on National Handloom Day and said that India's vibrant handlooms exemplify the country's diversity. 

During today's programme, the Prime Minister launched an e-portal of 'Bhartiya Vastra evam Shilp Kosh'- a Repository of Textiles and Crafts that has been developed by the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT).

According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), over 3,000 handloom and khadi weavers, artisans, and stakeholders from the textile and MSME sectors attended the event.

The initiative will bring together handloom clusters across India, NIFT campuses, Weaver Service Centres, Indian Institute of Handloom Technology campuses, National Handloom Development Corporation, Handloom Export Promotion Council, KVIC institutions and various State Handloom Departments, the statement said.

The government established National Handloom Day, with the first celebration taking place on August 7, 2015.

The date was chosen as an ode to the Swadeshi Movement, which began on August 7, 1905, and promoted indigenous industries, particularly handloom weavers.

This day is significant in raising awareness about the importance of the handloom-weaving community and highlighting the sector's contribution to our country's socioeconomic development. The handloom industry is both a symbol of the nation's illustrious cultural heritage and a significant source of revenue for the country. 

During today's event the PM was accompanied by Union Minister Piyush Goyal also seen interacting with vendors from different parts of the country displaying their products at the Bharat Mandapam venue.  

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Russia To Launch Lunar Mission This Week, First In Nearly 5 Decades

Russia said Monday it plans to launch a lunar lander this week after multiple delays, hoping to return to the Moon for the first time in nearly 50 years.

The launch, which is scheduled for the early hours of Friday, comes as Russia's Ukraine offensive stretches into a second year, sparking huge tensions with the West.

With the Luna-25 lander, Russia's first since 1976, Moscow is keen to restart and build upon a pioneering Soviet-era lunar program.

The Russian space agency said that a Soyuz rocket had been assembled at the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Russian Far East for the launch of the Luna-25.

"The launch is on August 11," Roscosmos said in a statement.

"The Luna-25 will have to practise soft landing, take and analyse soil samples and conduct long-term scientific research," the statement added.

The four-legged lander, which weighs around 800 kilograms, is expected to touch down in the region of the lunar south pole. By contrast, most Moon landings occur near the lunar equator.

The launch is the first mission of Moscow's new lunar program and comes as Russia looks to strengthen cooperation in space with China amid ruptured ties with the West.

After President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine last year, the European Space Agency (ESA) said it would not cooperate with Moscow on the upcoming Luna-25 launch as well as future 26 and 27 missions.

Despite the pullout, Moscow said at the time it would go ahead with its lunar plans and replace ESA equipment with Russian-made scientific instruments.

Speaking at the Vostochny cosmodrome last year, Putin said the Soviet Union put the first man into space in 1961 despite "total" sanctions. He insisted Moscow would develop its lunar programme despite current Western sanctions.

"We are guided by the ambition of our ancestors to move forward, despite any difficulties and any attempts to prevent us in this movement from the outside," Putin said at the time.

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11 Migrants Dead In Shipwreck Off Tunisia, Search On For 44 Missing People

At least 11 migrants have died in a shipwreck off Tunisia's coast and 44 others are missing, a judicial source said Monday, revising an earlier death count of four.

"Seven new bodies have been recovered on Sunday evening," said Faouzi Masmoudi, spokesman for the court in Sfax, Tunisia's second city near the site of the sinking that took place over the weekend in the Mediterranean Sea.

Two have been rescued out of the 57 people aboard the boat, all from sub-Saharan African countries, Masmoudi said, adding that the authorities were searching for the missing migrants.

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एशिया कप से पहले बाबर आजम ने बजाई खतरे की घंटी, गेल के क्लब में धांसू एंट्री, ऐसा कोहली भी नहीं कर पाए

Babar Azam 10th T20 Century: पाकिस्तान क्रिकेट टीम के कप्तान बाबर आजम इनदिनों लंका प्रीमियर लीग में अपने बल्ले का जौहर दिखा रहे हैं. कोलंबो स्ट्राइकर्स की ओर से खेल रहे बाबर ने सोमवार को गॉल टाइटंस के खिलाफ शानदार शतक जड़कर अपनी टीम को धमाकेदार जीत दिलाई. उन्होंने इस दौरान धाकड़ बैटर क्रिस गेल के खास क्लब में भरी एंट्री मारी.

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