Daily Bulletin: Floods cause devastation in parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Modi assures Kashmiris of early polls; day's top stories

Narendra Modi addresses nation, assures ’early, transparent’ elections in Kashmir Reaching out to Kashmiris, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday assured them of all-round development, early and transparent elections and an end to terrorism as he defended the scrapping of Article 370, which he asserted, has only given rise to separatism, corruption, “dynastic rule” and was used by Pakistan as a tool to spread terror in the state. In a televised address to the nation three days after the far-reaching decision, Modi also sought to assuage concerns after his government bifurcated the state into union territories, saying Jammu and Kashmir will not remain a union territory for long. [caption id=“attachment_7134121” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his address on the scrapping of Article 370.[/caption] With the Kashmir Valley reeling under security clampdown, Modi promised that the government is making all sincere efforts to ensure that the people in the region have no difficulties in celebrating Eid which is on Monday. “I want to assure friends of Jammu and Kashmir that the situation will gradually return to normalcy and their difficulties will ease,” he said, in his nearly 40-minute address. “We all want that in future J&K assembly elections take place, a new government is formed, new energetic youths become MLAs, ministers and chief minister. I assure people of J&K that with all honesty and in a transparent atmosphere, you will get an opportunity to elect your representatives soon,” Modi said. Modi also said his government respects objections of those who are opposed to the decision and was working to address them. He, however, asked them to keep national interests supreme and help the government in giving Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh a new direction. “The removal of Article 370 is a reality, and it was a well thought out decision,” Modi said. Heavy rain causes flood-like situation in several states, rescue ops on A flood-like situation was caused in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Odisha among other states on Thursday, as the NDRF, Indian Army and Navy, and Coast Guard undertook rescue and relief operations on a war footing. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), heavy to very heavy rains are likely in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Kerala over the next two days. On Thursday, over two lakh persons were evacuated to safer places due to the floods wreaked havoc in five districts of Western Maharashtra, the worst hit being the districts of Sangli and Kolhapur. At least nine persons drowned in Sangli district when a rescue boat capsized. The region is being pounded by rains incessantly over the last few days. The total number of deaths due to rain or flood-related incidents in five districts of the region during this period was 27, PTI reported. In Kerala, operations at the international airport have been suspended till 3 pm on Sunday after floodwaters inundated the apron area (parking area), ANI reported. The Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) also said that flights coming to the airport have been diverted. The operations were suspended as there was a rise in water levels in Periyar river and a canal adjacent to the airport. Eight people were killed in rain-related incidents in the state on Thursday, bringing back memories of last year’s devastating floods. In Karnataka, nine people, including six in Belagavi, two in Uttar Kannada and one Shivamogga, have died over the past few days in the various rain-related incidents. A total of 43,858 people from affected districts in northern, coastal and Malnad have been evacuated by rescue teams, comprising Fire and Emergency department, State Disaster Response Force, National Disaster Response Force and Army. Jet Airways Resolution Panel seeks more time to pay salaries The resolution professional of Jet Airways on Thursday sought more time from NCLT to pay salaries to employees saying he is awaiting permission from the lenders to dispose of some assets to generate funds. The counsel for the RP, Ashish Chhawchharia of Grant Thornton, said Jet Airways currently has no revenue from operations, hence not in a position to pay the employees. He further said he has sought the permission of the lenders to liquidate some assets so that 7,400 employees — who have submitted claims to the RP in July — of the bankrupt airline can be paid a portion of their salaries. When it was operational, Jet Airways had over 22,000 employees of them over 16,000 were on the rolls. While roughly 2,000 of them have been absorbed by other airlines — mostly pilots, cabin crew and engineers — others, mostly those in the non-critical areas are still stuck with the bankrupt firm. India vs West Indies: Rain plays spoilsport in first ODI Inclement weather ruined the first ODI of the three-match series between West Indies and India at the Guyana National Stadium on Thursday. Only 13 overs were bowled since the hosts were put in to bat after Indian captain Virat Kohli won the toss with the West Indies reaching 54 for one before the latest downpour drove them off the field yet again. The teams now move to Trinidad where the second ODI will be played 11 August. Samsung confirms Note 10 series won’t work with Gear VR After launching the new Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 Plus at the Samsung Unpacked 2019 event, the company has now confirmed that the new smartphones aren’t compatible with its Gear VR headset. It didn’t mention anything about the headset during the conference, which was surprising. It’s too early to say whether the Gear VR has a future as nothing came out since its launch in 2017. The company hasn’t spoken anything about an update coming out in the future. Shah Rukh Khan felicitated at Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Shah Rukh Khan was on Thursday honoured with the Excellence in Cinema award at the 10th edition of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM). Shah Rukh, who is attending the festival as its chief guest, was recognised for his contribution to cinema and popular culture in India.