Paingadh: Like subsidence-hit Joshimath, villagers of Paingadh village in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand have also been forced to leave their houses due to landslides and cracks appearing in their accommodations.
The hapless villagers are taking shelter in relief camps, tin sheds and even schools.
More than 40 families of the village, which is among the oldest settlements on the bank of the Pindar River near Tharali on the Karnaparayag-Almora National Highway, have become homeless and are living like refugees.
There are over 90 families in the village living there for generations.
The problem of landslides began in the village in 2013 with the Kedarnath disaster, but the matter worsened in October 2021 when cracks began to appear in fields above the village.
“The cracks were small initially and in a year’s time, they widened into holes,” Gopal Dutt, a villager, said.
On October 21 last year, a landslide occurred at around the same place where cracks had appeared and huge boulders fell on houses, killing four people.
The rubble of this landslide has affected almost half of the village and people who used to live in the zone have had to leave their homes and take shelter elsewhere, he said.
Some of the affected families have taken shelter in the houses of relatives, while others have shifted to a school building in the village. .
The only government primary school of the village has been turned into a relief camp, forcing authorities to hold the classes in the junior high school building about one kilometer away.
Children aged between 5-11 years have to walk to their school and also cross a stream on the way.
“There is no proposal yet to resume classes in the primary school building. Something definitive about it can be said only after the district administration makes a rehabilitation policy for the village,” Education Officer of Tharali block, Adarsh Kumar told PTI.
Meanwhile, Chamoli District Disaster Management Officer N K Joshi said a tin shed is being built in a secure location where the affected people of the village will be shifted.
However, a villager, Surendra Lal, alleged the shed is being built near a pine forest where there is no water or electricity supply.
One cannot go on foot to the place which can also pose a danger to lives during summer when pine leaves easily catch fire, Lal said.
Dutt said the government was requested to give readymade or prefabricated houses to the affected, but no progress has been made.
The affected families were given Rs 5,000 as disaster relief by the government four months ago.
“Geological scientists also conducted a survey of the village after the landslide, but no one knows what came out of it,” Surendra Lal said.
Jagmohan Singh Gadiya, who retired from the Army and lives in the landslide-affected zone, said, “I now regret my pledge not to migrate from my village”.
District Disaster Management officer Joshi said owners of the damaged houses have been given compensation as per norms. Relocation will be done in accordance with the rehabilitation policy and safe locations are being identified, he said.
New Delhi: The Turkish Embassy in India expressed its gratitude towards the “Dost Indians” for standing in solidarity with Turkey by contributing towards the relief efforts after a devastating earthquake hit the country in January.
In a press release, the Turkish Embassy expressed its heartfelt gratitude towards the Indian citizens who donated generously towards the relief efforts for those affected by the earthquake in Turkey.
The statement read, “The Turkish Embassy in New Delhi would like to express its heartfelt gratitude to Dost Indians for their solidarity and support in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey in January.”
The Embassy went on to highlight that the “Dost Indians” stood in solidarity with the people of Turkey, not only by donating money but also through their prayers and good wishes.
The earthquake that struck Turkey on January 24, 2023, measured 7.0 on the Richter scale and caused widespread damage in the country. The earthquake was centered in the Aegean Sea, near the city of Izmir, and was felt as far away as Athens and Istanbul.
The Turkish Government has been working tirelessly to provide relief and aid to those affected by the earthquake, and the contributions of the “Dost Indians” have been a significant source of support.
The Turkish Embassy’s statement continued, “The contributions of the Dost Indians are an affirmation of the close and friendly ties between the people of Turkey and India. We are grateful for their support and kindness during this difficult time.”
The relationship between Turkey and India is a long-standing one, with the two countries sharing deep cultural and historical ties. The expression of solidarity from the people of India towards Turkey is a testament to the strong bond between the two nations.
The Turkish Embassy’s expression of gratitude towards the “Dost Indians” serves as a reminder of the power of solidarity and the importance of supporting one another during times of crisis. It is heartening to see people from different parts of the world coming together to help those in need.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday interacted with members of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other organisations, involved in rescue and relief operations in earthquake-hit Turkey and Syria under “Operation Dost” and appreciated their efforts.
Lauding the efforts of the NDRF teams, he noted that in the last few years, India had strengthened its identity as a self-sufficient as well as a selfless country.
He noted that the relief and rescue teams had done a great service to humanity and made the country proud.
India was among the first few countries which had sent rescue teams to the affected nations, within hours of the massive earthquake hitting the region.
Turkey was hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on February 6, which had also impacted neighbouring Syria. Till now more than 45,000 people have been killed in it while millions have been rendered homeless.
The PMO had held a meeting on the same day and soon afterwards, rescue and relief teams were dispatched to Turkey and Syria under Operation Dost.
Apart from the relief material, India had sent a mobile hospital as well as specialised rescue teams apart from around 250 army personnel to the most affected areas of Turkey and Syria.
Modi, addressing the rescue personnel, that India is always ready to be the first responder whenever there is a crisis.
“We consider the world as one family and see it our duty to quickly help any member in crisis,” he said.
Three self-sustaining teams of the NDRF, with more than 150 specially trained personnel, along with a dog squad and specialised vehicles were also sent to Turkey.
Emergency medicines, equipment, and medical items were also sent to Syria.
There has been no change in the prices of petrol and diesel across the country for a long time. Petrol and diesel prices are running stable across the country, but in the midst of all this, a big good news is coming out.
The price of petrol can be reduced by Rs 18 and diesel by Rs 11. For the last 10 months, the general public has not seen any change in fuel prices, but Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has given a good news.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman indicated
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has hinted that there may be a big cut in the prices of petrol and diesel in the coming days. The price of petrol can be reduced by Rs.18. For this, big planning is being done by the central government.
Government is making this plan
Let us tell you that the central government is planning to bring petrol and diesel under the ambit of GST. At present, this will be discussed in the GST Council. If there is an agreement on this from the state governments, then there can be a big fall in the prices of oil. At present, fuel is taxed at the rate of 28 per cent.
Boom in february
Let us tell you that there has been a huge jump in the demand for fuel across the country in the month of February. According to the preliminary data of the industry that came on Thursday, the consumption of petrol and diesel has increased in double digits this month due to the severe cold last month. According to the data, petrol sales increased by about 18 per cent to 12.2 lakh tonnes in the first fortnight of February. In the same period last year, this figure was 10.4 lakh tonnes. This figure is 18.3 percent more than the first fortnight of February in 2021.
How much has the demand for petrol increased?
During the period under review, the demand for petrol has increased by 13.6 percent on a monthly basis. Earlier in January, the demand had decreased by 5.1 percent on a monthly basis. This decrease was due to the decrease in the movement of vehicles in the cold season. Sales of diesel, the most used fuel in the country, increased by about 25 per cent year-on-year to 3.33 million tonnes during February 1-15.
United Nations: Indian peacekeepers deployed in Syria have responded to the plight of earthquake victims in that country by ferrying relief sent by India through devastated areas.
Indian peacekeepers drove a convoy of four vehicles from Camp Faouar in the Golan Heights to Aleppo to deliver the aid on Tuesday, according to Colonel Pratyush Kumar, the chief of staff of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF).
Another convoy is being planned, he said.
He said that a portion of the relief supplies flown by India on C-17s from Hindon to Damascus was earmarked for Aleppo and was handed over by the Indian Embassy to UNDOF’s Indian contingent.
The relief material that included medicines, medical supplies and equipment were taken by road to UNDOF’s Camp Faouar in Quneitra, Kumar said in response to a query from IANS.
From there they went on the arduous 400 km journey to Aleppo where the relief supplies were handed over to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, he said.
A total of 10 tonnes of assorted relief material were collected by the UNDOF for the relief operations in the Aleppo area following appeals also to international donors, Kumar said.
The February 6 earthquake that cut a deadly swathe across Syria and Turkiye has claimed over 40,000 lives, at least 6,000 in Syria.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made an international appeal on Tuesday for $397 million to help the victims in Syria.
UNDOF’s mandate from the Security Council is to maintain the ceasefire between Israel and Syria and the governments of India and Nepal gave the required permission for their peacekeepers to be deployed outside the mandate area.
India contributes 200 personnel and Nepal 415 to UNDOF, which is headed by Major General Nirmal Kumar Thapa of Nepal.
On receiving a request from the Syrian government for help with earthquake relief, an advance UNDOF team headed by Kumar went to Aleppo on Sunday and met with Governor Ahmed Hussain Diab and other officials to assess the help required there.
Diab told them that the need of the hour for the people of the Aleppo governorate was relief material and UNDOF organised the relief convoys with Indian aid.
In addition, majority non-white neighborhoods accounted for more applications per capita than did majority-white ZIP codes.
Borrowers in blue states were generally more likely to sign up for the program than borrowers in red states, where many Republican officials have railed against its legality and cost. Congressional districts won by Democrats averaged about 57,000 applications for debt relief while GOP-won districts averaged 50,000 applications.
The new details come as Biden’s debt relief program, which offers up to $20,000 of loan forgiveness, remains stuck in legal limbo. The Supreme Court later this month will hear oral arguments in two cases brought by Republican-led states and a conservative group, which argue that Biden’s debt cancellation is illegal.
POLITICO examined the ZIP codes associated with each of approximately 23.6 million applications for Biden’s debt relief that were received by the Education Department between Oct. 14 and Nov. 11, when the program was frozen in response to a court ruling. The department provided the data in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.
POLITICO’s analysis matched application ZIP codes with U.S. Census Bureau estimates of per-capita income, college attendance and racial demographics, as well as the results of the 2022 midterm elections.
Lower-income areas applied at a higher rate
Critics of Biden’s debt relief program, including many Republicans, have decried it as a handout to wealthy Americans who don’t need the help. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C,), who has led the GOP charge against the plan as chair of the House education committee, has blasted the program as a “transfer of wealth from working class Americans to privileged college graduates.”
The White House, meanwhile, claims that about 90 percent of the benefits will go to families earning less than $75,000. When he announced the program, Biden said it was targeted to “working and middle-class people hit especially hard during the pandemic.”
It’s impossible to know the precise income of the tens of millions of borrowers who applied for debt relief because the Education Department didn’t collect that information. On the application, borrowers were required only to self-certify that their annual income fell below the program’s $125,000 limit for individuals and $250,000 for couples.
The per-capita income of the ZIP codes where applicants live is one proxy for estimating their income. Most people, however, earn more or less than the average of their neighborhood.
POLITICO’s analysis found that more than 98 percent of applications came from ZIP codes where the average income is under $75,000. About two-thirds were from neighborhoods with an average income below $40,000.
Applications from higher-income ZIP codes were more rare. Less than 1 percent of the total applications came from the wealthiest ZIP codes where per-capita income is more than $100,000 — roughly corresponding to the portion of Americans who live in these ZIP codes.
Applications from lower-income areas comprised a greater share of the population of adults who attended at least some college compared to applications from higher-income areas.
For example, about 60 percent of those college-educated adults live in neighborhoods where the per-capita income is less than $40,000. But those areas accounted for a greater share, 66 percent, of the applications for student debt.
There were more applications per capita in majority non-white neighborhoods
The NAACP, Congressional Black Caucus and other proponents of student debt cancellation have argued it will help narrow the nation’s persistent racial wealth gap.
Overall, about 15 million applications came from majority-white neighborhoods, while about 8.6 million applications were from ZIP codes that are majority non-white, the POLITICO analysis found. But the number of applications per capita was higher among majority non-white ZIP codes than it was in majority white ZIP codes.
In Georgia, for example, about 43 percent of the total population lives in ZIP codes that are majority non-white. But those areas accounted for about 54 percent of the student debt relief applications.
Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) was one of the most prominent Democrats pushing Biden to cancel student debt and ran on the issue during his close reelection bid last fall — even as Democrats in other close races distanced themselves from the program.
Several Atlanta-area ZIP codes, the state’s Democratic strongholds, had particularly high volumes of applications. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) represents the eastern suburbs of Atlanta in a majority-Black district that had among the highest number of applicants of any congressional district in the country.
“My district is a prime example of why the relief is so important,” he said in an interview, noting that about half of his constituents have a bachelor’s degree but “many others” have debt but no degree. He noted the median household income of the district, which is about $69,000, according to the Census Bureau.
“That’s not wealthy,” Johnson said, pushing back on GOP criticism of the program. “That is doing everything you can to keep your head above water.”
Politically speaking, Johnson said, canceling student debt “was a powerful lever” to drive Democratic turnout across Georgia last fall. “I think it was one of the reasons that people turned out to vote for Raphael Warnock” even as other statewide races, notably the gubernatorial contest, went for Republicans, he said.
“People are looking forward to that relief,” Johnson said. “They know that it came from national Democrats, that it was a Biden initiative.”
The debt relief program is more popular in blue states
The White House launched the application for student debt relief during the 2022 midterm election campaign, and Biden promoted the application in several speeches in the weeks leading up to Election Day.
The applications skewed toward congressional districts won by Democrats, according to POLITICO’s estimates. About 52 percent of applications came from Democrat-won districts; 48 percent were from GOP-won districts.
In the typical Democratic district, the number of applications was a greater share of the population that attended college than it was in the typical Republican district.
Nationally, about 63 percent of federal student loan borrowers estimated to be eligible for relief had applied for the program or were in line to automatically receive relief, according to the POLITICO analysis of Education Department data.
That sign-up rate was higher in many blue states where Democrats heavily promoted the administration’s debt relief application. In Vermont and Massachusetts, for example, about 68 percent of eligible borrowers raised their hand for relief.
Many GOP states, by contrast, had participation rates that were lower than the national rate. That includes Republican-led states where officials are suing to block the plan, such as Arkansas (57 percent) and Missouri (59 percent). Wyoming had the lowest share of eligible borrowers: about 55 percent apply for the program.
Methodology
This is a snapshot of about 23.6 million out of a total of 25 million applications because the Education Department has not yet — or is unable to — match the remaining applications with ZIP codes of borrowers, or has masked applications counts in ZIP codes where fewer than 100 applications were filed. There may be duplicates in this pool of applications if people submitted multiple applications.
The data analysis was based on ZIP code-aggregated data provided by the Education Department. We crossed the ZIP codes with approximately equivalent Census Bureau-defined ZIP code tabulation areas using a crosswalk compiled by the Health Resources and Services Administration.
Demographic data used for this analysis is mostly from the 2021 Census Bureau American Community Survey five-year estimates. In some cases, the surveys did not provide median income estimates for certain ZCTAs.
To align the ZCTAs with congressional districts, we used the Geocorr tool created by the Missouri Census Data Center. Because ZCTAs sometimes overlap congressional districts, the portion of applications assigned to those districts were weighted by the portion of population living in each congressional district in these estimates.
The Education Department has determined these applications were submitted by real federal student loan borrowers. It matched applications received on StudentAid.gov last fall to ZIP codes it has on file for student loan borrowers. It has not yet determined that these borrowers actually qualify for relief (whether they have the correct type of federal student loan, whether they took out the loan before July 2022, etc.). In other words, they are just applications, not approvals. Before the program was shut down, the department had begun issuing approvals and approved approximately 16 million borrowers for relief by Nov. 11.
[ad_2]
#25M #Americans #signed #Bidens #student #debt #relief
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
School News: There is good news for school students. Actually once again they will get 10 days leave in a month. According to the list issued by the schools, 10 days holiday has been declared for them in the month of March. Due to which the students will get great relief.
Never Miss An Update After Joining This Group
Join Our What’s Group
Click Here
School Holiday: There is good news for school students. Actually their schools will be closed for several days in the month of March. The benefits of which will be given to the students. At the same time, board examinations are also being considered as the major reason for the holidays in schools. Due to the board exams, usually the department declares holidays in the schools in the month of March. The benefits of which are given to the students. Meanwhile, according to the annual calendar issued by the schools, there will be holidays for many days in the month of March.
Holiday calendar released
The calendar of school holidays in the month of March has been released by the Government of Rajasthan. 127 days holidays were declared throughout the year. According to the school calendar of the Government of Rajasthan, schools will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday on March 7 and 8 on the occasion of Holi.
On the other hand, on Wednesday, March 22, a holiday has been announced in schools on the occasion of Ugadi. Apart from this, schools will be closed on Thursday, March 30, on the occasion of Ramnavami, while March 5, March 12, March 19 and March 26 are Sundays for schools. In such a situation, out of 30 days of the month, a holiday has been announced for 10 days for the children.
Schools will remain closed for so many days in March
Here, in other schools, due to Sunday on March 5, there will be school holidays. Due to the festival of Holi on Wednesday, March 8, holidays will be declared in schools. Due to the second Saturday on March 11, holidays will be declared in the schools.
March 12 is Sunday. Apart from Sunday on March 19, a holiday has been declared on March 23 on the occasion of Martyrdom Day. Also, March 26 is a Sunday. Schools will be closed on March 30 on the occasion of Ram Navami. In such a situation, in the month of March, children will get the benefit of holidays for many days.
New Delhi: A group of volunteers from Bengaluru has sent relief material for the earthquake victims of Turkiye and Syria via the Turkish embassy in New Delhi.
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck southeastern Turkiye and neighbouring Syria on February 6 and the large aftershocks that followed destroyed thousands of buildings and claimed more than 39,000 lives.
More than 1,000 blankets to the Embassy of Turkey and a monetary donation to the Embassy of Syria were sent on Wednesday by the volunteers, in association with Aarogya Seva, an international humanitarian aid agency, and Vananam Ventures.
“We are happy to be able to contribute to the relief efforts for those affected by the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria. We hope our donation of 1,000 blankets to the Embassy of Turkey and the monetary donation to the Embassy of Syria will help in some small way to ease the suffering of those impacted by this tragedy,” Puneeth T, a volunteer from Bengaluru, said.
Riyadh: The eleventh Saudi relief plane on Thursday, arrived at Gaziantep Airport in the Turkish Republic, carrying 88 tons of food baskets, shelter, and medical materials on board, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
This comes within the framework of the Saudi relief air bridge operated by the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Action, under the directives of King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The 11th relief flight was preceded by ten similar flights, two to the Syrian airport of Aleppo and eight to Turkey, according to previous announcements made by the agency since the earthquake.
On February 6, the earthquake struck southeastern Turkey and northern Syria with a magnitude of 7.7, followed hours later by another with a magnitude of 7.6 and dozens of aftershocks, which left great losses in lives and property in both countries.
To support Turkey and Syria in the disaster, more than 16 Arab countries announced the establishment of air bridges, the provision of urgent relief and medical aid, and the launch of campaigns to donate funds and in-kind supplies.
On Tuesday, Pakistan sent another rescue team to Turkey on orders of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir. Earlier Pakistan had sent a rescue team of 30 Pakistanis. Reportedly, those Pakistanis are struggling to manage their own meal everyday.
To ensure the same, the second search and rescue team has been sent to search the relief material for the rescue team already there.
“The new rescue and search team is solely for searching the relief material and rescuing the Pakistani rescue team” told Pakistan Chief of Army General Syed Asim Munir to The Fauxy.
Upset with Pakistan’s behaviour, Turkey has given a strong statement to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to not do any favour to Turkey and rescue and take the Pakistan’s rescue and search team back to Pakistan.
[ Disclaimer: With inputs from The Fauxy, an entertainment portal. The content is purely for entertainment purpose and readers are advised not to confuse the articles as genuine and true, these Articles are Fictitious meant only for entertainment purposes. ]
