Daily News Dose: Waterlogging in Kochi, LPG prices hiked by Rs 3.50 and more | May 19, 2022

Hello, this is your daily dose of news from Onmanorama.

I'm your host, Deepa, and these are the major news stories of the day:

1. Waterlogging throws life out of gear in Kochi, orange alert in 12 districts

2. . LPG price hiked by Rs 3.5, crosses Rs 1000 mark

3. Police case against Sudhakaran for controversial remarks against the CM

4. Supreme Court asks Varanasi civil court not to proceed with Gyanvapi hearing till May 20

5) Two cops found dead near police camp in Palakkad, electrocution suspected

6. Active COVID-19 cases in the country dip to 15,419

Let's get into the details:

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an Orange alert for 12 districts of the State. A Yellow alert has been issued for Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam. Ten shutters of Bhoothathankettu dam located 10kms away from Ernakulam's Kothamangalam were raised on Thursday. The water level is expected to go up in Periyar river. Water level in the Peringalkuthu dam across the Chalakkudi River in Kerala's Thrissur district is steadily rising amid the heavy rains. An Orange alert has been sounded. The dam''s shutters will be raised if the water level rises by one more metre, District Collector Haritha V Kumar has informed. Meanwhile, a tree fell over a house in Nedumkandam of Idukki district following the high-speed winds and heavy rains there. There are no casualties. The electric lines in the area have been disconnected.

Two cops were found dead near Muttikulangara police camp in Palakkad on Thursday. The bodies of havildars Mohandas and Ashokan were found in a field near the police camp. They had gone missing yesterday. The bodies were found in two different spots inthe field. Electrocution was suspected to be the cause of death as burn injuries were found on the bodies.

Cooking gas LPG price was on Thursday hiked by Rs 3.50 per cylinder, the second increase in rate this month following the firming of international energy rates. Non-subsidised LPG now costs Rs 1,003 per 14.2-kg cylinder in the national capital, up from Rs 999.50 previously, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.

This is the second increase in LPG rate this month and the third in less than two months. The price was hiked by Rs 50 per cylinder on March 22 and again by the same quantum on May 7.

The Kochi City Police on Thursday registered a case against KPCC president and Kannur MP, K Sudhakaran, in connection with his controversial comment against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. While acting on a complaint filed by à local DYFI leader on Wednesday, the Kochi City police registered the case under section 153 (deliberately giving provocation with intent to cause riot) of the Indian Penal Code. The casé was registered against the KPCC president after recording the statement of the complainant.

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the civil court in Varanasi to not proceed with hearing the Gyanvapi case till it takes up the matter on Friday.A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, Surya Kant and PS Narashima was informed by advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain that lead counsel Hari Shankar Jain for the Hindu devotees in the civil suit in the case is indisposed. Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain urged the court to take up the matter for hearing on Friday.

India has added 2,364 new coronavirus infections, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to four crore 31 lakh 29 thousand 563. The active cases has declined to 15,419, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday. The death toll has climbed to 5,24,303 with 10 fresh fatalities, stated the data. The active cases comprise 0.04 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.75 per cent, the ministry said. A total of 5,24,303 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 69,440 from Kerala. The ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

That brings us to the end of this episode. Be sure to come back tomorrow. As always, thanks for listening to Daily News Dose.