Daily wrap: Rain alert issued in Kerala; SC verdict may sink K'taka govt
Extremely heavy rains forecast, red alerts in 6 districts of Kerala
With the weather office predicting extremely heavy rains in the coming days for Kerala, a red alert has been issued in six districts in the state, including Idukki and Malappuram, from July 18. The red alert, denoting likelihood of very heavy to extremely heavy rain, has been issued in Idukki, Malappuram, Wayanad, Kannur, Ernakulam, and Thrissur districts on different days from July 18-20. Extremely heavy rains – over 204 mm rains in 24 hours, have been forecast, an India Meterological Department (IMD) bulletin said.
Kulbhushan Jadhav escapes the noose, but no return to India yet
In a major relief for India, the International Court of Justice on Wednesday ruled that Pakistan must review the death sentence for Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of “espionage and terrorism”. Jadhav, 49, a retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by the Pakistani military court on charges of “espionage and terrorism” after a closed trial in April 2017. His sentencing evoked a sharp reaction in India.
Extend TN irrigation law benefits to Kudimaramathu, demand activists
In the past, the state had brought the Tamil Nadu Farmers Management of Irrigation Systems (TNFMIS) Act in 2000, which had the provision to create ‘Water Users Associations’ (WUA), which would act as an executing authority for tanks under the Public Works Department (PWD). The Act also had a provision for holding elections for the WUAs. However, these have now become defunct and elections for WUAs have also not been held in the last few years. Now, activists are demanding that the TNFMIS Act be extended to the Kudimaramathu scheme, to cover tanks under the village panchayats.
Pakistan increases land allotted to Kartarpur Gurdwara from 3 to 42 acres
Pakistan will allot 42 acres of land for the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, up 14 times, Punjab governor has announced while indicating that 80 per cent of the work on the landmark Kartarpur Corridor has been completed, according to a media report. The corridor will connect Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district and facilitate visa-free movement of Indian Sikh pilgrims, who will have to just obtain a permit to visit Kartarpur Sahib, which was established in 1522 by Sikh faith founder Guru Nanak Dev.
SC verdict will sink K’taka’s coalition govt, rebels may stay afloat
The Karnataka coalition government is most likely to sink like the Titanic when it faces a floor test in the Assembly on Thursday. The only question left now is: Will the Congress-JD(S) rebels go down with it or survive by jumping into the BJP boat? The Supreme Court’s interim judgment on the resignation of the 15 rebels has put two options on the board. By allowing the Speaker to act independently on the resignations, the apex court has left him the discretion of disqualifying them. And, by restraining the Congress-JD(S) from making it mandatory for the rebels to participate in Assembly proceedings, it has paved the way for the fall of the government.
Centre to identify illegal immigrants, deport them: Amit Shah
The Centre will identify illegal immigrants staying in any part of the country and deport them as per international law, Home Minister Amit Shah said in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday (July 17). The minister was replying to a supplementary query by Samajwadi Party member Javed Ali Khan on whether the National Register of Citizens will be implemented in other states as well. Currently, the NRC is being updated under the strict monitoring of the Supreme Court in Assam and July 31 has been set as a deadline for final publication of the registered data.
