Chennai: Orange alert was issued today in 10 districts of Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, amid heavy rains. The Met Office has warned of thundershowers in the state till 8.30 am tomorrow. Puducherry and Karaikal also received heavy rainfall.

Intermittent rains are creating a crisis as authorities try to avoid flooding. More than 10 cm of rain fell in many places. The Chennai Co-operation Commissioner said that these days are the heaviest rainfall in Chennai in 100 years. The rain continues as the hurricane is still close to the coast. The Chennai Meteorological Department has warned of heavy rains in the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu.

Srinagar: Twelve pilgrims were killed in a stampede at the Mata Vaishno Devi temple in Jammu and Kashmir. More than a dozen people were injured. A large number of people came to pay their respects on the occasion of the New Year. Many of the injured are in critical condition, hospital sources said. Authorities said that many people had entered the Vaishno Devi Bhavan without permission, causing congestion.

Jaipur: Omicron’s death has been reported again in the country. A 73-year-old man has died of omicron in Udaipur, Rajasthan. He was being treated at the hospital for high blood pressure and diabetes. On December 21, the covid test result was negative. On the 25th, covid became positive again and Omicron confirmed.

He died of pneumonia, hospital officials said. The country’s first Omicron death was confirmed in Maharashtra yesterday. A 52-year-old man traveling to Nigeria died on Tuesday. He died of a heart attack on Thursday after being diagnosed with an Omicron variant.

New Delhi: The GST Council has frozen the tax hike on textiles and footwear. The decision to increase the tax from 5 percent to 12 percent has been put on hold. Indications are that the move follows opposition from the states. The decision was taken at the GST Council meeting held today.

The next GST Council meeting will discuss raising the tax on textiles. The GST Council has taken a crucial decision ahead of the new tax coming into effect on January 1. Several states demanded at the council meeting that the tax increase be frozen.

Earlier in the day, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had held a meeting with state finance ministers ahead of the budget. The West Bengal finance minister had said that if the tax hike was implemented, about one lakh industries would have to close down. About 15 lakh people will lose their jobs. Industry groups also opposed the decision.

Puducherry: A month-long night curfew has been declared in the Union Territory of Puducherry. The restriction will be from 11 pm to 5 am. The night curfew was announced amid a rise in Omicron cases in the country.

The government said it was time for people to be extra vigilant and that a night curfew would be imposed from today until January 31. Social and recreational gatherings are also prohibited in Puducherry.