The Evening Wrap: 7 killed after glacial burst in Uttarakhand

The Hindu Newsletter - Here are the latest updates and the big news stories to follow today [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Sunday 07, February 2021 [alt_text]( The Evening Wrap Here are the biggest news stories of the day [alt_text]( Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Nanda Devi glacier burst: Seven bodies recovered [Seven bodies have been recovered and more than 125 individuals are missing]( after a flash flood, reportedly caused by the splintering of a glacier, hit the site of the Rishi Ganga dam on the Rishi Ganga River in Uttarakhand on Sunday. A small hydro project on the Rishiganga river was also swept away. "We will give ₹4 lakh as compensation to the families of the dead. Five local persons are reported to have been swept away in the flash flood. Missing persons are about 125 — this figure could me more also," informed Uttarakhand Chief Minister T.S. Rawat at a press conference on Sunday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also approved an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh each from PMNRF for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to the tragic avalanche caused by a Glacier breach in Chamoli, Uttrakhand. ₹50,000 would be given to those seriously injured. At least 12 persons have been rescued so far by the ITBP from an open tunnel, according to a senior National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) official. Five NDRF teams, three of which have been air lifted from Hindon in Ghaziabad, are on way to the disaster site and will join rescue operations by late evening. Forces abroad conspiring to tarnish image of Indian tea: PM Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said some [forces abroad were conspiring to tarnish the image of Indian tea](. The focus of his speech in poll-bound Assam’s Dhekiajuli, a tea-growing area, was on the tea plantation workers, a major chunk of voters that the Bharatiya Janata Party had weaned away from the Congress ahead of the 2016 Assembly election. “I want to tell you about a conspiracy hatched to defame the country. The conspirators have not even spared Indian tea. They are saying the image of Indian tea has to be defamed worldwide, systematically,” Mr. Modi said. [ Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Dhekiajuli in Sonitpur district on February 7, 2021. ] Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Dhekiajuli in Sonitpur district on February 7, 2021. He was addressing a crowd of largely tea plantation workers after remotely inaugurating and laying the foundation stones of a medical college each in eastern Assam’s Biswanath and Charaideo and Assam Mala, an expansive road project. “The evidence that we have suggests the forces are seated abroad, ready to launch an attack on India’s tea-based identity,” the Prime Minister said. He added the tea plantation workers and every individual who drank tea would seek an explanation from the political parties for maintaining silence on it. “But I want to tell the conspirators that the country won’t allow you to succeed, however much you try. The tea workers will win this battle. Those who are conspiring to launch an attack on Indian tea are not strong enough to confront the strength of our tea workers,” Mr. Modi said, without naming the forces. Pope Francis appoints first woman to senior synod post Pope Francis has broken with Catholic tradition to [appoint a woman as an undersecretary of the synod of bishops](, the first to hold the post with voting rights in a body that studies major questions of doctrine. Frenchwoman Nathalie Becquart is one of the two new undersecretaries named on February 6 to the synod, where she has been a consultant since 2019. The appointment signals the pontiff’s desire “for a greater participation of women in the process of discernment and decision-making in the church”, said Cardinal Mario Grech, the secretary-general of the synod. [Pope Francis delivers his blessing from his studio window overlooking St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on February 7, 2021.]Pope Francis delivers his blessing from his studio window overlooking St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on February 7, 2021. “During the previous synods, the number of women participating as experts and listeners has increased,” he said. “With the nomination of Sister Nathalie Becquart and her possibility of participating in voting, a door has opened.” The synod is led by bishops and cardinals who have voting rights and also comprises experts who cannot vote, with the next gathering scheduled for autumn 2022. A special synod on the Amazon in 2019 saw 35 female “auditors” invited to the assembly, but none could vote. The Argentinian-born pope has signalled his wish to reform the synod and have women and laypeople play a greater role in the church. Have full faith in judiciary: Faruqui Stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui, who has been released from jail after 35 days in a case of allegedly hurting religious sentiments, has [said he has full faith in the judiciary]( and hopes to get justice. Mr. Faruqui was released from the Indore Central Jail late Saturday night after prison authorities checked Friday's bail order of the Supreme Court order of the Supreme Court on its website, a jail official earlier said. In a brief video message after he was set free, the 32-year-old comedian said, "I don't want to comment (on the case against him) now. But, I have full faith in the judiciary and I am hopeful of getting justice." Arrested for allegedly hurting religious sentiments, Mr. Faruqui was in the jail since January 1. [Munawar Faruqui. ]Munawar Faruqui. On Friday, the Supreme Court granted him interim bail after the Madhya Pradesh High Court rejected his bail plea on January 28. The Supreme Court also stayed the production warrant issued against Mr. Faruqui by a court in Prayagraj in connection with an FIR lodged there. However, he was released late Saturday night only after a Chief Judicial Magistrate in Indore rang up the jail authorities and asked them to check the Supreme Court's website for the bail order. Sasikala, Dinakaran trying to incite violence, say AIADMK leaders Senior Ministers and AIADMK leaders on Saturday complained to Director General of Police J.K. Tripathy that V.K. Sasikala, aide of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, and T.T.V. Dhinakaran, general secretary of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, were [trying to incite violence](. Ministers D. Jayakumar, P. Thangamani, C.Ve. Shanmugam and party presidium chairman E. Madhusudhanan were among those who met Mr. Tripathy. On Thursday, they lodged a complaint seeking to prevent Ms. Sasikala from using the AIADMK flag. “We have no objection to Ms. Sasikala’s return to the city on February 8. However, T.T.V. Dhinakaran said Ms. Sasikala would travel using the party flag. Mr. Dhinakaran said even if we complain to the DGP or the chiefs of armed forces, no one can prevent them. A few supporters of Ms. Sasikala said they would become 100 human bombs and reach Tamil Nadu,” Mr. Shanmugam said on Saturday. Mr. Shanmugam alleged Mr. Dhinakaran issued a major threat, which would cause law and order problems in the State. To incite violence, Ms. Sasikala, Mr. Dhinakaran and their men have hatched a “major conspiracy”. The AIADMK government has been functioning successfully, he said. Covid watch: Numbers and Developments The [number of reported coronavirus cases from India]( stands at 1,08,37,323 at the time of publishing this newsletter with the death toll at 1,56,349. 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