Children including 10-day-old baby rescued from ruins as Turkey-Syria quake toll nears 24,000

News Network
February 11, 2023

quake.jpg

Istanbul, Feb 11: Rescue crews have saved a 10-day-old baby and his mother trapped under a toppled building in Turkey and dug several people, including children, out from other sites as the death toll from the devastating Turkey-Syria earthquake approached 24,000.

Officials and medics said on Friday 20,213 people had died in Turkey and 3,553 in Syria. The confirmed total now stands at 23,766. Many more people remain under the rubble.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said authorities should have reacted faster to this week's huge earthquake.

"Although we have the largest search and rescue team in the world right now, it is a reality that search efforts are not as fast as we wanted them to be," Erdogan said on Friday.

Erdogan had previously admitted that the initial response after the earthquake was slow due to adverse weather conditions, damaged roads, and the large area that affected the country's 10 provinces.

Some residents of the region have complained that there were no aid workers in their area in the critical hours after the earthquake, a charge that politicians, opposed to Erdogan's government, blamed.

However, Erdogan further said that the search and rescue operation continues with the joining of teams from all over the world.

Speaking in the earthquake-hit Adiyaman province, he also said that looting of shops had taken place in some areas, adding that the state of emergency declared in the area would allow the state authorities to take the necessary punishments.

Erdogan also said after visiting displaced people sheltering in tents, if people choose to move out of the affected cities, the government will pay their rent for one year.

Syrian state media also announced on Friday that the Syrian government has approved humanitarian aid to all war-torn areas of the country, a move that could speed up the arrival of aid to millions of people affected by Monday's deadly earthquake.

The said distribution of aid will be done in cooperation with the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Syrian Red Crescent to ensure that the aid reaches those who need it.

Also, the Syrian government has declared Lattakia, Hama, Aleppo, and Idlib as the most affected areas by the earthquake and will create a rehabilitation fund.

The Turkey-Syria border is one of the world's most active earthquake zones. Monday's quake was the largest Turkey has seen since 1939, when 33,000 people died in eastern Erzincan province. In 1999, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake killed more than 17,000.

The United Nations World Food Program committed $77 million on Friday to provide food rations and hot meals to 874,000 people affected by the deadly earthquake in Syria and Turkey.

The number in need of aid "includes 284,000 newly displaced people in Syria and 590,000 people in Turkey, which includes 45,000 refugees and 545,000 internally displaced people", the Rome-based organization said in a statement.

In the first four days since deadly earthquakes struck the region, WFP has delivered food assistance to 115,000 people in Syria and Turkey.

"We're providing mainly hot meals, ready-to-eat food rations, and family food packages -- things that require no cooking facilities and can be consumed immediately," said Corinne Fleischer, the WFP's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.

"For the thousands of people affected by the earthquakes, food is one of the top needs right now and our priority is to get it to the people who need it fast."

WFP has announced that despite the difficulties in getting food in Syria, which has been devastated by the conflict, it has so far delivered food to 43 thousand people in the country.

Thanks to stockpiles inside the country, the agency said ready-to-eat rations are available for 100,000 people, and other rations that require cooking facilities for 1.4 million people for a month.

Meanwhile, the United Nations said on Friday that it was rapidly depleting the stockpile it had in Syria ahead of the devastating earthquake and needed quick resupply to support the millions affected.

The Bab al-Hawa crossing from Turkey is currently the only way UN aid can reach civilians in war-torn Syria. This is while Syria is under severe international sanctions.

The United Nations has called for politics to be stripped out of the disaster response to facilitate aid delivery.

Katrina Bohme, from the World Health Organization headquarters team, said that no obstacle to help the victims is acceptable.

"We need to ensure access to assistance and health care for all those in need. Collectively as the UN, we will be measured on whether we can enable this," she told a briefing in Geneva.

UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, had 30,000 so-called relief items – mattresses, blankets, kitchen sets, plastic sheets, jerry cans and sleeping mats – and 20,000 tents already in Syria before the earthquake.

"We have been distributing them since day one," said Sivanka Dhanapala, the UNHCR representative in the country. "A lot of this is being sent out and now needs to be replenished as quickly as possible," he said via video link.

The UN Human Rights Secretary-General also called for an immediate ceasefire in Syria on Friday in order to facilitate the delivery of aid to all the victims of the devastating earthquake in the region.

"UN human rights chief Volker Turk calls for an immediate ceasefire in Syria, and full respect for human rights and humanitarian law obligations so help can reach everyone," the UN rights office said in a tweet.

quake.jpg

pics.jpg
T

syriya.jpg

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 16,2023

congress.jpg

Bengaluru, Mar 16: The Veerashaiva-Lingayat community, which has highest number of legislators in Karnataka, has sought to strengthen its hold on state politics. 

Senior Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa, who is also president of the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, on Wednesday met Congress national president Mallikarjuna Kharge and requested him to give 65 tickets to Veerashaiva-Lingayat community leaders in the coming assembly elections.

Shamanur along with other community leaders met Kharge here and said that in the previous assembly elections, Congress gave 42 tickets to Veerashaiva- Lingayat community leaders and in which 18 candidates won. This time the number of seats should be increased, he said in his plea to Kharge.

“Veerashaiva-Lingayat community voters spread across the state and their support was crucial for any party to come to power. If the Congress gave more seats to the community leaders, it would be easy for the party to come to power,” he told reporters.  

Senior leader from the community and former minister S R Patil also met Kharge separately. However Patil said he conveyed the party leader that he is ready to contest in the assembly polls if the party gave him the ticket.

On Monday senior leader M B Patil also met Kharge and demanded 65 seats for Veerashaiva-Lingayat community leaders.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 16,2023

saudi.jpg

Riyadh, Mar 16: Saudi Arabia is open to “quickly” investing in Iran following the restoration of diplomatic relations, according to the Kingdom’s Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan. 

Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed last Friday to reassert their diplomatic ties and will reopen their respective embassies within two months.  

Speaking at the Financial Sector Conference in Riyadh, Al-Jadaan was asked when Saudi Arabia could start making “significant” investments in Iran.

“I would say quickly,” he replied, later adding: “Our aim is to have a region that is stable, able to provide for its people, and prosper, and there is no reason for that not to happen, Iran is our neighbor and has been and will continue to be for hundreds of years.”

“There are a lot of opportunities in Iran, and we provide a lot of opportunities, as long as goodwill continues,” Al-Jadaan said. 

The finance minister added that as long as both sides “stick to agreements” around sovereignty and non-interference, there is no reason the relationship between the countries cannot see a “ normalization.”

“I don’t see any impediments,” Al-Jadaan added.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
coastaldigest.com news network
March 15,2023

monupuranik.jpg

Mangaluru, Mar 15: Mangalore University during its 41st convocation on Wednesday, March 15, conferred honorary doctorate degrees were awarded to three achievers who achieved unparalleled achievements in various fields. 

Haji U.K. Monu, founder and managing director of Kanachur Group of Industries, Mangaluru for his achievements in education and social service, businessman G Ramakrishna Achar for his contribution to agriculture, education and social service and Rajyotsava awardee Prof. M.B. Puranik for education and social service received honorary doctorate degree from the Governor.

Haji U K Monu

Haji U. K. Monu is the founder and managing director of Kanachur Group of Industries in Mangalore. Under his leadership, the Kanachur Academy of General Education was established in 2002 to provide quality education to the people of the locality, especially women and the underprivileged. The Academy includes a range of institutions, including the Kanachur Public School, Kanachur Pre-University College for Women, Kanachur Institute of Management and Science, Kanachur Institute of Medical Science, Kanachur College of Physiotherapy, Kanachur College of Nursing Science, Kanachur Institute of Allied Health Science, and Kanachur Hospital and Research Centre.

In addition to his outstanding achievements in the educational field, Haji U.K Monu has made significant contributions in the social and religious fields. He has served as the President and Vice President of the Syed Madani Charitable Trust and Dargah Association Ullal, Mangalore, and as the President of the Mohidin Jumma Masjid, Panjala, Mangaluru for the past 25 years. He has also served as the Vice President of the South Indian Plywood Manufacturers Association and the Karnataka Timber Importers Association.

Haji U.K Monu's business ventures have provided direct and indirect employment opportunities to many people, and his efforts have extended globally through his association with Global Business Associates in Singapore, Dubai, Myanmar, Africa, and Europe. He has been recognized for his outstanding contributions in the field of Education and Social Service by the Newspaper Association of Karnataka and by the Mangalore University on 43rd Foundation day.

Haji U. K. Monu is Self-taught and self-made entrepreneur and educationist with an undying passion for constant learning and amelioration. He is universally compassionate, empathetic and involved in social service, helping many poor families who are economically backward, facilitating fee concessions and free education for
 
deserving students, and conducting free mass marriages for poor couples. He has covered a vast sphere of business interests and diverse social ventures, providing both direct and indirect employment to many people. He has faced numerous difficulties and challenges during his initial days towards the path of achievement. His dedication, hard work, and commitment to excellence made him a role model for the younger generation. His contributions to society are truly commendable.

Ramakrishna Achar

G Ramakrishna Achar was born in a financially backward family from Gangolli in Kundapur taluk in Udupi district and due to the fact that he had to support his family he quickly took up work at a fabrication workshop and dropped out of the school early in his childhood. All the time his heart yearned for more academic education, but learnt skills from his work at an impressionable age. The self-learning desire in him took him deep into mechanics and fabrication field and made him master craftsman, when he had just reached his teenage. He upgraded his technical knowledge by working as a trainee in the Central Food Technology and Research Institute (CFTRI) in Mysuru.

From then on, he did not look back or paused on the road to his horizons. Though he started his professional life in a shed with only Rs. 25,000 capital, he ploughed hard and today he owns a fabrication company that is making waves in the field of agriculture, water management, sewage treatment having a turnover of Rs. 250 crores per annum and employed over 3000 people in skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled segments. He has built infrastructure close to Rs. 100 crores. His clientele is spread over the globe- even in the developed world.

His line up of products began in 1990 with paddy processing unit which he quickly upgraded into a modern range of machinery with inbuilt dryer that played a major role in controlling the moisture and retaining the quality of rice for a long time. This was a world innovation and many paddy growing countries around the world have subscribed to his idea and started using his machinery. As a result in India alone, the wastage of cured rice was arrested and the country gained Rs. 100 crore every season by way of stopping the rice going waste due to moisture retention.

This process also had another advantage of retaining the composition of rice that made it suitable for the modern day rice-based fastfood recipes. Today if the common rice smells and tastes better all over the country, it was due to the deep research product of Ramarkishna Achar’s ingenuity, imagination, creativity and innovative outlook.

Clean and pure water to the last person in society- Elixir of life

Ramakrishna Achar’s quest for research took another turn which was towards providing safe drinking water to the masses. His ‘Elixir’ brand of water purifier with different configuration is now a standard equipment for water dispensing in public places all over the country and in the neighbhouring countries. Heeding to the call of honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modiji for clean and safe water for every citizen under ‘Sujala’ programme, Ramarkishna Achar upgraded his range of water purification plants and made it more affordable to install them in more places where people can fill up one litre of purified water at Rs. 1 per litre. This worked like a charm in rural areas where the drinking water supply quality was always wanting for improvement. Thanks to the efforts now thousands of villages, temple complexes, public offices, schools, colleges or wherever there is a good number of visitors the ‘Elixir’ machines were installed providing safe drinking water.

The Elixir machines also minimised the use of pet bottles being littered after the use that led to plastic pollution. This innovative product also gave jobs to many urban and rural youths by installing the Elixir water dispenser machines and earned their livelihood. In fact, the Elixir Machines have taken care of three objectives together, namely stand-up India, Skill India and clean water programme which the honourable Prime Minister of India had envisaged.

Effluent treatment plant -micro and macro operations.

Another area of vital importance where Ramkrishna Achar concentrated is the treatment of effluent water or what we call municipal waste. There are a number of scientific findings and research papers that indicate untreated sewage discharge from towns and cities polluting the surface water resources and gradually turning the surface water and the sub-terranean water sources unusable, especially in the highly urban areas and cities.

To deal with this problem, he has designed sewage water treatment plants of various configurations that can cater to individual households, medium and large housing colonies, industrial houses, high-rise apartment blocks. Since space is always a constraint in housing complexes, the design of these new-generation effluent treatment plants can fit in a corner of any independent house and what is more? The system does not need any civil work and is fully automated and requires no or minimal human intervention for maintenance purposes. This model also has been widely accepted in many parts of the globe including some developed countries. To put it simply it is a ‘plug and play’ system.

Industrial Training Institute- a ray of hope for the rural youth.

His deep understanding of the social system around the youth was instrumental in promoting an Industrial Institute at Bannadka near Moodbidri. He has developed thousands of skilled youth who have populated Industrial set-up in various countries in the world and are gainfully employed in ancillaries and mainline industrial houses in fabrication, technology integration and adoption, and mechanical automation. The National Council for Vocational Training has recognised the Institute. Many of them already own SMEs in the rural engineering and fabrication in small towns and cities. Even here, the Skill India programme of our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji has been a motivating factor.

Go Dhama - a passion and a mission

In another initiative towards making the farmers self-sufficient, Ramakrishna Achar has launched a ‘Go Dhama’ in a remote village - Muniyal in Karkala taluk about 25 kilometers from Moodbidri on a 35 acres of land. His idea was to create a model, micro self-sufficient village led by the cow-rearing and value- addition to the milk and milk products. It started as a passion and later became a mission of his life.

The Go Dhama has 37 Indian breed cows from different parts of the country. A fully machinised production unit, in-house veterinary service, composting, fodder development, training programmes for the farmer in integrated farming and intercropping and developing nutrition programme for the cows for better milk-yield and healthy progeny. The Go Dhama also has plans for development of the hyper local variety of cows and cattle.

The wider vision of Go Dhama is to have a SME level Dairy development based on modernisation and Technology based on PLC norms.

Social service

His heart and mind fill with joy when he talks about the social work aspect in his life so far. The Sri Kalikamba temple in Moodbidri of which he is a trustee has climbed from strength to strength over the last few years. The managing committee and devotees acknowledge the growth with high degree of confidence.

The Bala Samskara Kendra is an institution he launched with help from his own community. The basic objective of the institution is to impart traditional knowledge and Indian ethos along with the school curriculum tapping into the forgotten traditions of our society.

The SKF has also laid out substantial funds for taking up Corporate Social Responsibility projects. It participates in water conservation, water body revivals, Human Resources Development and holding regular medical camps.

Prof. M. B. Puranik

RajyotsavaPuraskar Recipient, Prof. M. B. Puranik is a visionary, a philanthropist, an educationalist, an entrepreneur, a social worker and a politician committed to the nationalist idea that is India.

Prof. M. B. Puranik has a rich 34 years of experience in teaching as the Professor and Head, Dept. of Botany. He was initially associated with St. Mary’s Junior College, Shirva and later on with Canara College, Mangalore. Education is his passion and he realised that a lot of problems in the society could be solved by empowering the youth with education and employment. Over the past thirty years he has been successful in building 10 institutions in four different campuses. He is currently the President of Tulunad Educational Trust and Sharada Group of Institutions. He is a noted alumnus of Sri. Rama Higher Elementary School, Majur; Sri. Vishnumurthy Hayavadana Swamy High School, Innanje; Poorna Prajna College Udupi, Regional College of Education Mysore, and Sardar Patel University, Anand Gujarat. All his alma maters have known him for his leadership skills and diligence. He was the Union President in College, and Senior Under Officer in NCC (Army) having C-certificate with distinctions. As a Professor, he was also the Associate NCC Officer (ANO) in the Air Wing branch, Student Welfare Officer, and Fine Arts Association Convener.

Prof. M. B. Puranik has always been interested in social welfare – he believes that one should be able to give back to the society at least a small portion of what one has taken from the society. His interests apart from education and social work are animal husbandry and agriculture. He is a President of an orphanage called Mangala Seva Samiti Trust (Bala Samrakshana Kendra, Kuttarpadav) and started the Gowvanithashraya Trust in Pajeer which shelters 400 cows and a few destitute women. He is also the president of RCPHD Trust, which runs a school for the economically deprived as well as physically handicapped children. Due to his philanthropic leadership, every year nearly 100 students receive free education, and so far 21 orphan girls have entered into wedlock.

From a Karyakartha in Udupi, he was raised to the level of the Working President of VHP (Karnataka state),a responsibility of a very grave nature, which he is very proud of, till date. His association with the RSS starts from his early youthful days, and though he was elevated to the position of the Vibhag Sangha Chalak, Mangaluru, he had to renounce it later to take
 
up larger roles. Prof. M.B Puranik was also appointed as State Committee Member of Rajya Dharmik Parishat and the Chairman of Gau-SevaAayog in 2013 by the then BJP Government under Sri. B. S. Yediyurappa.

Philanthropist, Prof. M. B. Puranik born in 1945 in Majuru, a small village of undivided Dakshina Kannada, as the 7th son of Late Sri. Ramkrishna Puranik and Smt. Jalajakshi Ammais thus a doyen of education, empowerment, and social upliftment which sums up to patriotism.

Institutions under Prof. M.B. Puranik’s Leadership:

Sharada Vidyalaya - 1992

Sharada PU College - 1998

Shubhodaya Vidyalaya - 2003

Sharada Vidyanikethana Public School - Residential - 2005

Sharada Vidyanikethana Public School - Day Boarding - 2005

Sharada Vidyanikethana P.U. College - 2010

Sharada First Grade College - 2010

Sharada Ayurdhama Medical College & Hospital - 2016

Sharada Shishu Vihara - 2017

Sharada Yoga & Naturopathy Hospital & Research Centre - 2019

Awards & Honours:

Best NCC Officer - Karnataka State Government - 1984

Rajyothsava Puraskar - Karnataka State Government - 2010

Ahara Rathna - Hotel Owners Association - 2011

Seva Rathna - by Swarnavalli Mutt, Sonda - 2015

Krishnanugraha - by Pejavara Mutt - 2018

Hari Bhaktha Netha - by Paryaya Sri.Adamaru Mutt - 2021

Ananda Samaja Bhushana - Ananda Balaga Bengaluru - 2022

Shivalli Shikshana Ratna - Shivalli Spandana, Mangaluru– 2022
 
Vidyanidhi Shilpi – Shanbhog Dasappa Datti – 2023 (100th Silver Crown)

Prof. M. B. Puranik has been a member of many other organisations and associations in various capacities and has been honoured with multiple recognitions. However, only a few have been listed above.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.