Ten tragedies that struck India in '05'

[dr.nil]

1. The Kashmir earthquake



On October 8, a massive earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale shook Pakistan and India.
Villages were devastated in Kashmir and over 80,000 people died in India and Pakistan.
In a gesture of friendship, India offered to send troops to Pakistan occupied Kashmir to help with relief work as the earthquake had caused more misery in PoK.
The Pakistan foreign ministry agreed to accept Indian help -- though not Indian troops -- and indicated its willingness to reciprocate, given how India too had suffered devastation.
The borders on both sides were opened for the first time so that common people could cross over for relief material and medical treatment.

2. The rain on July 26



No one could believe a tragedy like this could hit Mumbai.
The rain gods created havoc when the city received 95 cm rain on one day alone -- the highest in the century.
Large parts of suburban Mumbai were flooded. Children and adults were stranded with no way to reach their homes.
In 24 hours more than 400 people died.
More bad news followed as the direction of rain shifted from Mumbai to other parts of Maharashtra.
In a week nearly 1,000 people died.

3. The Delhi blasts



Terrorists struck Delhi on October 29 -- on the eve of Diwali and Eid, triggering three explosions in two city markets and outside a bus. At least 55 people were killed and 155 were injured.
The first explosion took place at 1740 IST in the busy Paharganj market. The market, which is frequented by foreigners, was bustling with shoppers.
Minutes later, another explosion rocked the Sarojini Nagar Market in south Delhi, where most of the casualties were reported.
Another blast took place 10 km further south in the Govindpuri area.
A month later, Tariq Ahmed Dar, allegedly a member of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist group and an award-winning sales executive at Johnson & Johnson, was arrested by the Delhi police for involvement in the crime. Delhi Police Commissioner K K Paul later claimed Dar had confessed to the crime, but his family denied his involvement in the blasts.

4. Soldiers and suicide



This year, 100 soldiers and paramilitary troopers committed suicide.
Most of the cases were reported from the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir where insurgency has declined, but not died down.
Troops at the front often spend many sleepless nights in the pursuit of terrorists.
Experts cite stressful conditions, inadequate housing, paltry salaries, few promotion avenues, strict leave restrictions and early retirement as some of the causes for this dreadful tragedy.

5. 100 died in train accident



After unseasonal floods, the Delta Express crashed near the town of Veligonda, south of Hyderabad, on October 29.
Seven of the train's 14 coaches and its engine derailed. At least three coaches fell into floodwaters.
Despite the administration's rescue efforts, a hundred people died in the year's worst rail disaster.

[dr.nil]

6. Worst snowfall in 20 years



In February, at least 170 people died and hundreds more went missing following the worst snowfall in Kashmir in 20 years.
Avalanches and mudslides triggered by heavy rain buried entire villages.
Indian soldiers and medical personnel searched desperately for hundreds of people buried in the snow. In Anantnag district, south of the summer capital Srinagar, roads were submerged in 15 feet of snow.

7. Maoists on the rampage



On the night of November 13, in an attack unprecedented in independent India, Maoists attacked a jail in Jehanabad, Bihar.
The Naxalites set free more than 300 prisoners, including their leaders Ajay Kanu and Murali who were lodged in the jail.
They also took away an unspecified number of imprisoned Ranvir Sena activists.
The Ranvir Sena is the private army of upper caste Hindus who have fought the Naxalites for years. Many of the Ranvir Sena prisoners were suspected to have been executed by the Maoists later.

8. 65,000 homeless after floods



The wrath of the monsoon first started in June when incessant rain killed 56 people in Gujarat and rendered 65,000 people homeless.
Passengers on board the Indore-Gandhinagar Shanti Express were marooned for many harrowing hours as rescue teams were unable to reach the site following the flooding of tracks.

9. And yet more water woes



Never before has the monsoon created such havoc for Indians as it did this year.
In Tamil Nadu, about 80 passengers were killed when two buses were washed away in floods in Ramnathapuram and Thanjavur districts on November 26.
The vigorous northeast monsoon tormented Tamil Nadu, killing 247 people in the state last month.
Torrential rain returned in December, killing 21 people and rendering thousands homeless in Andhra Pradesh.

10. Death by stampede



A wild rumour became the sole reason for the death of 42 people in Chennai on December 18.
The incident took place when 4,500 flood-affected people gathered outside a school from 3 am onwards to collect relief material.
A rumour rapidly spread that only 1,000 coupons would be distributed and the relief material would be disbursed on a first come basis.
Worse followed as a sudden downpour made the people run for cover, triggering a melee that led to the stampede.
In July, days after the Mumbai floods, a rumour that a tsunami was on its way killed 18 people in a stampede in a city slum.

[agarwalm11]

Maybe All Because Of Global Temp Changing

[Earth]

yes,i remember the day of 26th july i think when i was stuck in the fllood in mumbai
i came all the way from bandra to malad walking on the railway tracks ...it was a horrible incident