Cyclone Phailin hits 90 lakh people; 23 dead, lakhs of homes damaged

PTI | Oct 13, 2013, 09.54 PM IST

 

GOPALPUR/SRIKAKULAM: Cyclone Phailin on Sunday left a trail of destruction knocking down lakhs of homes affecting nearly 90 lakh people and destroying paddy crops worth about Rs 2,400 crore, but Odisha and Andhra Pradesh escaped from widespread loss of life.

As the largest evacuation efforts in the country's recent history helped keep casualties to the minimum, reports from the two states tonight said that 23 people died, all but two of them in Odisha. Most of the casualties were caused by wall collapse, uprooted trees and in floods.

Communication links were vastly disrupted by the strong winds that went upto a speed of 220 kmph when the "very severe" cyclonic storm crossed the coast near Gopalpur last night and weakened before turning into a depression. Ganjam district in Odisha bore the brunt of the storm.

According to IMD tonight, Phailin weakened further turning into "deep depression" with wind speed of 45-55 kmph and currently lay over northern Chhattisgarh, parts of Orissa and Jharkhand. According to M Mohapatra, scientist (Cyclone Warning Division) of the meteorology department, the "cyclonic storm" has now turned to "deep depression" with the wind speed of 45-55 kmph. It currently lays over northern Chhattisgarh, parts of Orissa and Jharkhand. It is expected to weaken further late tonight, he said.

A Panama-registered cargoship M V Bingo carrying iron ore was reported to have sunk in rough seas in the impact of the cyclone off the coast of West Bengal, but the crew were spotted in a lifeboat by a Coast Guard Dornier aircraft.

Authorities in Odisha evacuated nearly nine lakh people, the largest in recent history, ahead of the storm to cyclone shelters and public buildings like schools to avoid a repeat of the monstrous 1999 super cyclone in which nearly 10,000 people were killed.

"We are on the whole quite satisfied with the type of evacuation that was done," Vice chairman of National Disaster Management Authority M Shashidhar Reddy said. In Gopalpur, where the storm struck first, "almost 90-95% people had been evacuated".

Defence and paramilitary personnel were deployed to carry out relief and rehabilitation measures and restoring infrastructure badly affected by the storm.

The IMD earlier in the day said Phailin has weakened into a cyclonic storm with wind speed between 60 and 70 kmph.

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik said the primary aim was to minimize loss of human lives and they have successfully managed to do so. "Property to the tune of several crores has been damaged...Rehabilitation will now be done."

Giving details of the devastation, Odisha revenue minister S N Patro said 14,514 villages in 12 districts have been affected, hitting a population of 80,53,620.

Over 2.34 lakh houses have been damaged and more than 8.73 lakh people evacuated.

Over five lakh hectares of standing crops have been destroyed by the gushing waters causing an estimated loss of Rs 2,400 crore, he said.
Power situation under control: Power ministry

There were some disturbances in electricity transmission due to cyclone Phailin which struck Odisha and Andhra Pradesh last night, but were attended to in time, the power ministry said.

"Required load and generation were managed in a balanced manner so as to secure stable transmission frequency," it said in a statement.

In Andhra Pradesh, the load was reduced to about 9,000 megawatt (MW) against normal demand of 10,000MW and in Odisha, it was 600MW against the normal demand of 2800MW.

Based on IMD information, extensive prior preparations were undertaken to tackle the effects of cyclone Phailin in the context of power requirements," it said.

Advance preparations were made to manage generation and load balance for unhindered and secure grid operation. Power stations in the region were also monitored, it further added.

As required load and generation were managed in a balanced manner so as to secure stable transmission frequency.

Also three Emergency Restoration Systems (ERS) of PGCIL were put on standby readiness in AP and Odisha for quick deployment in the event of damage.

The National Load Dispatch Centre under the control of POSOCO was operating 24 hrs and in touch with the regional dispatch centres of POSOCO and the state load dispatch centre (SLDC).

A high level team headed by additional secretary in the ministry was coordinating all the steps required including 2 hourly reports to all concerned, the statement further added.

Jamaat-e-Islami Hind to adopt 1000 Mazaffarnagar riot hit families

Jamaat-e-Islami Hind to adopt 1000 Mazaffarnagar riot hit families in 1^st phase relief plan;

Jamaat relief committee completes survey works of affected persons

New Delhi, 28 Sept. 2013:

Jamaat-e-Islami Hind’s relief and rehabilitation committee will adopt 1000 selected families, displaced from five villages of Muzaffarnagar riot areas in its first phase programme and the committee will try to immediately  rehabilitate them in their original homes.

“Thousands of Muzaffarnagar riot hit displaced families are forced to live in extremely small relief camps or under open sky without shelter in miserable conditions with very poor sanitation facilities, therefore Jamaat-e-Islami Hind’s relief and rehabilitation committee has decided to adopt 1000 selected families, displaced from five villages in its first phase programme of emergency relief and it will try to immediately but safely rehabilitate them as much as possible in their original homes,” said  Jamaat-e-Islami Hind’s all India secretary Mohammad  Shafi Madani, who has been chairman of Islamic Relief Committee of Gujarat (IRCG), also in-charge of relief and rehabilitation works in Assam’s riot areas.

Giving details of the relief and rehabilitation works Mr. Madani said, “We are doing target legal works including registering FIRs. We will strive for providing suitable compensations from the government to each victim and will also pressurize government for proper compensation to all persons who suffered any loss and damage of property and commodities. We will also focus on communal harmony and will create a good atmosphere in the riot hit areas and will do our best for building good mutual relationships between Muslims and Hindus, and Muslims and Jats.”   

 “In first phase programme of the relief committee on emergency basis, 1000 tents will be erected for 1000 adopted  families providing all basic needs on temporary basis i.e. 2000 quilts (Lihaf), 1000 big size mats, proper sanitation facilities, 10 hand pumps, street light poles, 5 temporary schools will be established for them. As Eid ul Azha is near, animals will be sacrificed to share these displaced families in Eid celebrations,” Mr. Madani informed after assessment of survey and relief works, as a delegation led by Shafi Madani has recently visited Meerut’s Falah-e Aam Hospital, the headquarters of Jamaat’s Muzaffarnagar relief works.

Giving details of the legal works, Mr. Madani said, “a sub-committee for legal works has been formed and Advocate Abdul Qayyum of Meerut has been selected as the head, while APCR UP chapter’s office bearers will be members of this subcommittee and Association for Protection of Civil Rights’s (APCR) national coordinator Mr. Syed Akhlaq  will monitor and assist it in executing legal works.”

The relief committee has completed survey works as its members and other volunteers visited relief camps and filled the survey forms detailing all important data about each riot hit person and family. The Jamaat’s UP (West) President, Maulana Inamullah Islahi along with other state leaders of Jamaat has also recently visited some relief camps and riot hit areas for monitoring relief and survey works.

 Apart from Mr. Madani, Mr. Syed Akhlaq,  Mr. Anwarulhaq, Jamaat’s Media Dept, were the part of this delegation.

Issued by:

Media Dept. Jamaat-e-Islami Hind,

 D-321, Abul Fazl Enclave, Jamia Nagar, Okhla, New Delhi-25, Phone: 011-26951409 / 011-26948341.

10 Crore Defamation Suit Against Mumbai Police

Muslim body slaps Rs. 10-cr defamation suit on city police

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/others/Muslim-body-slaps-Rs-10-cr-defamation-suit-on-city-police/articleshow/23010700.cms

By Mustafa shaikh, Mumbai Mirror | Sep 25, 2013, 12.11 AM IST

The Jamat-e-Islami Hind, a well-known organisation that runs more than 500 educational institutions across the country, has filed a defamation suit against the Mumbai police for allegedly linking one of its branches with terror-related activities.

The Muslim body has demanded Rs 10 crore as compensation from the city police for issuing a departmental communication stating that members of its women's wing, Girls Islamic Organisation (GIO), "were indoctrinating college girls and imparting training in jihad".

The internal circular had been leaked to the media in March.

Taufique Aslam Khan, president of JIH's Maharashtra wing, said they waited for nearly five months before taking any step as the cops had assured them that an inquiry would be launched and strict action would be taken against the person behind the leak.

"Despite assurance, we did not receive any reply from the Mumbai police. We sent them a legal notice in July. When that too did not result in any response, we decided to move the Bombay High Court," said Khan.

GIO members say theirs is one of India's largest Islamic organisations and runs 40 high schools and three junior colleges in Maharashtra. They allege the Mumbai police memo has severely dented their reputation. "Girls have stopped participating in our programmes," said Mohammad Aslam Ghazi, spokesperson of JIH's state wing.

The circular, issued by the Special Branch of Mumbai police in the third week of March, read: "The group GIO is an offshoot of the 65-year-old Jamat-e-Islami Organisation and is currently active in Kerala. The purported aim of this organisation is to make more and more Muslim women aware of their religion and the holy Quran. But the real objective of this organisation is to brainwash college and school girls and train them for jihad."

Ghazi said a delegation from GIO had met the cops in April. While they accepted that there was nothing incriminatory against Jamat's women's wing, they said they had acted based on some intelligence inputs, he said.

"Therefore, it is necessary for Mumbai police to compensate for the damages done to our peaceful organisation. The cops should have tried to keep a track on the activities of the organisation before attaching a terror tag to it," added Ghazi.

Mumbai police spokesman Satyanarayan Choudhary said, "The circular was meant to be only for the department and not for the public. As regards any inquiry into the incident, I do not have any information on it at the moment."

JIH official said they are also seeking legal opinions to take action against newspapers that had reproduced the circular.

 

Jamaat-e-Islami Hind sues state for Rs 10 cr

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/jamaateislami-hind-sues-state-for-rs-10-cr/1173835/

Mumbai, Wed Sep 25 2013, 01:48 hrs

The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has slapped a Rs 10-crore defamation suit in the Bombay High Court against the state government, the state police and even the Union government.

The suit comes in the backdrop of a circular issued by the state police in April, asking its officers to keep a special watch on JIH's sister organisation, the Girls Islamic Organisation (GIO) since it was allegedly radicalising Muslim youths.

"We have filed a Rs 10-crore defamation suit against the state. The organisation has been working since 1941. Our work is not such that it would create a rift in society. That circular has done immense damage to our reputation. People are unwilling to allow their daughters to join GIO now," JIH spokesperson Aslam Ghazi said.

The suit names nine entities, including the Union of India and the Maharashtra government. It has also made the state DGP, Mumbai police commissioner, additional commissioner of police Naval Bajaj and DCP Sanjay Shintre a party.

Asked why it took so long to file a suit, Ghazi said it was following procedure. "We had sent the state police a notice seeking their explanation, but they ignored it, hence a defamation suit," Ghazi said.

After the organisation protested, the police had said it found nothing adverse against it and that the circular was meant for internal circulation. Police claimed it was probing how the circular was leaked, but stopped short of apologising to the organisation.

The Jammat-e-Islami was formed by noted but controversial theologian Abul Ala Maududi who was born in Aurangabad but played a defining role in the history of Pakistan. An organisation with a strong cadre base, its state unit presently operates from a dingy 700-sq ft three-room office in Madanpura. The Girls Islamic Organisation, under the police scanner, operates from this office. The GIO has over 450 full-time members, all below the age of 25. It has a 2,500-strong cadre who are called associate members.