Cyclone Dana lashes Odisha, Bengal
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced on October 25, in its 10 am bulletin, that the landfall process of Cyclone Dana, which touched the Odisha coast with a ‘severe’ storm, is complete. The heavy rains and strong winds caused extensive damage in Odisha and West Bengal.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said that more than 30% of the targeted 10 lakh people had been evacuated to safe places by October 23rd evening. About 288 rescue teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), and Fire Services have been deployed.
Flight services in Kolkata’s airport and train services from Sealdah resumed on October 25th.
Due to packing wind speeds ranging between 85-90 km/hr gusting to 105km/hr that are likely to prevail along with the storm, the IMD issued a ‘red’ alert for Odisha and West Bengal, where rainfall, over 200mm in 24-hours is likely. Meanwhile, one death was reported from Bengal.
An ‘orange’ alert was announced for southern Jharkhand districts, Kerala and Mahe on Friday, whereas a ‘yellow’ alert was issued for Bihar, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and south interior Karnataka.
Source: Indian Express, The Statesman, The New Indian Express
Read More: Explainer: How to file claims for property damage after a cyclone
Flood risk maps for Chennai builders
Chennaiites will receive technical guidance to reduce flood risk, even as they seek planning permission and building approval from various agencies, such as Greater Chennai Corporation and Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA).
Civic and other local bodies will soon adopt development regulations to lower flood risk. Following approval from the government, builders will get guidance to reduce floods in every construction plan. Residents and developers will finalise the correct plinth level to make buildings floodproof, using the GIS map of flood risk for Chennai. These maps have been prepared for the Chennai Metropolitan Area, with many areas mapped with flood risk between two feet and five feet, while some areas show a risk of more than 10 feet.
Source: The Hindu
Action to address Delhi’s ‘very poor’ air quality
To tackle Delhi’s worsening air quality, Environment Minister Gopal Rai has proposed cloud seeding to trigger rain and reduce pollution. The capital recorded a 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) of 327, coming under the ‘very poor’ category. There was a thick layer of smog on October 23, with almost all weather monitoring stations in the red zone and many regions shifting to the maroon zone of the Central Pollution Control Board’s colour-coded warnings. The AQI in many regions went over 400, moving to the ‘severe’ category. The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology has predicted that the AQI in most parts of the city will remain ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’ for the next six days.
The Environment Ministry aims to increase the number of Ambient Air Quality Monitoring stations and assess the feasibility of setting up mobile stations in pollution hotspots, the Central Government has told the National Green Tribunal.
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has ordered implementation of Stage-2 emergency measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). The panel implemented Stage 1 of GRAP on October 15. It also listed monitoring and enforcement actions taken by the Punjab and Haryana governments to control farm fires.
Anti-pollution measures include guidelines for construction and public transport. Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan have been asked to stop operating diesel buses to Delhi. The government is monitoring construction sites and increasing the frequency of water spraying.
Environment Minister Gopal Rai launched the ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ campaign, encouraging people to switch off their vehicle engines at red light signals to curb emissions.
Meanwhile, during a visit to the Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant, Chief Minister Atishi said high ammonia levels in Yamuna have affected the capital’s water treatment plants and decreased their output. She accused BJP-ruled Haryana and Uttar Pradesh of discharging untreated industrial waste into the Yamuna.
Source: Indian Express, The Hindu
Housing sales in Tier-II cities fall by 13%
Housing sales dropped by 13% in Tier-II cities in Q3 this year, even as launches fell 34%, reported real estate data analytics firm PropEquity. The fall was by 41,871 units in Q3 2024 against 47,985 units in Q3 2023. Launches dropped to 28,980 units in the July-September quarter of 2024 from 43,748 units.
Still, there was a huge investment in the overall real estate sector. Foreign investors infused $436 million in Q3, which marked a 139% increase every year, mostly in commercial and office space deals.
The tier-II cities in the west zone, that is Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Gandhinagar, Surat, Goa, Nashik and Nagpur, contributed 72% to the total sales and 71% of the launches in Q3. Just Ahmedabad accounted for 32% of the launches and 30% of the sales. The decline in sales and launches is due to the higher base effect, as 2023 had recorded historic highs, according to PropEquity.
The top three cities with the maximum drop in launches were Sonepat, Panipat and Agra. Just eight cities saw growth in new launches, headed by Bhopal (268%), Dehradun (100%) and Coimbatore (77%).
Source: Deccan Herald, Business Standard
Read More: The urban choke: Need for safe housing and improved roads
Luxury home sales surge by 37%
In the first nine months this year, luxury home sales shot up by 37.8% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) across the top seven cities (Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-national capital region, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad), said real estate advisory firm CBRE. Almost 12,625 units priced at Rs 4 crore and more were sold compared to 9,160 units in the same time in 2023.
About 90% of sales were from Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Hyderabad. Delhi-NCR showed the highest sales of 5,855 units and a Y-o-Y increase of 72%. The third quarter of 2024 saw a similar trend, with 4,360 luxury homes sold and a yearly increase of 82%.
The surge may be due to a preference among affluent buyers for enhanced amenities, spacious living areas and luxurious lifestyles. Rising aspirations and shrewd domestic investments in real estate also contributed to the trend.
Source: Business Standard, The Print
[Compiled by Revathi Siva Kumar]