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Friday,
June 7, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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LCA flight
successful
Joint
patrolling on LoC ‘practical’ Editorial: All over joint patrolling Pak
‘behind’ hysteria to leave subcontinent |
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BSF, BDR
to start joint patrolling Fire in Uttaranchal
House CBI
seeks FBI help to arrest Rastogis NCP MLAs
under tight security in Indore Jaiswal’s
resignation accepted
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LCA flight
successful New Delhi, June 6 After an almost six months delay the aircraft was successfully tested at supersonic speed levels. The maiden flight of the LCA Technology Demonstrator-II was carried out at 11.47 am in the presence of Defence Minister George Fernandes and LCA Project Director Kota Harinarrayana. It made a perfect landing after 28 minutes and successfully meeting all test parameters set for the flight. It marked a significant landmark in the LCA project and ensured its entry into the Flight Test Programme. The Defence Minister later also spoke to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, to inform him about the successful flight testing. The Prime Minister congratulated scientists of the DRDO on their achievement. It may be recalled that the test flight of the LCA Technology Demonstator-I was successfully carried out on January 4, 2001. The LCA is an advanced technology, single seat, single engine, supersonic, lightweight, all weather, multi-role air superiority fighter designed for air-to-air, air-to-ground and air-to-sea combat roles. An official release issued here said the purpose of flight test programme was to validate a number of advanced technologies incorporated in the LCA. These included unstable configuration, quadruplex fly-by-wire digital flight control system, integrated avionics with glass cockpit advanced composite materials for primary structure and a novel utility systems management system. The development effort for the LCA is spearheaded by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) under the Department of Defence Research and Development. The ADA’s responsibilities include project design, project monitoring and promoting the development of advanced aeronautic technologies of relevance to the LCA. The Defence Minister also congratulated the scientists and engineers of the Aeronautical Development Agency and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the successful test flight of the Light Combat Aircraft Technology Demonstrator-II. The minister said the test demonstrated the ability of our scientists and engineers to produce world-class aircraft. Mr Fernandes further expressed confidence that our technocrats would bring in more and more laurels to the country and take it towards total self-reliance in defence production. Meanwhile, the ADA today signed a limited series production agreement of the LCA with HAL. Mr Harinarayana said after the successful flight that eight aircraft would be produced under the agreement. He said the government’s commitment to the LCA programme had been displayed by the approval for the limited series production. HAL had already set up a full-fledged production team and facilities for the purpose with a General Manager in charge. Dr Harinarayana said the first aircraft would be delivered in 2006 and the production schedule would be completed by 2006. |
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Joint patrolling on
LoC ‘practical’ New Delhi, June 6 Responding to questions, MEA spokesperson Nirupama Rao told reporters that the Prime Minister’s proposal was “a serious and a major initiative of the Government of India” aimed at easing Indo-Pak tensions and now it was up to Pakistan to react. Pakistan has already rejected the proposal and its Foreign Office has gone on record that there was nothing new in the joint patrolling proposal and it was “unlikely to work”. The idea was first mooted in 1989 for simultaneous and coordinated joint patrolling on the borders, mainly in Punjab. When the spokesperson’s attention was drawn to divergent views expressed by Defence Minister George Fernandes on the joint patrolling issue, she asserted that Mr Fernandes’ views on the issue were no different and the Government of India was “one on this issue”. |
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Pak ‘behind’ hysteria to leave subcontinent New Delhi, June 6 “Life here is perfectly safe. Unnecessarily a major hysteria is being created... Mainly Pakistan is responsible for it,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs told reporters today. Meanwhile, Britain today once again advised its nationals to leave India and Pakistan. Strengthening its earlier travel advice issued on May 31, Britain today again asked its nationals that they should “consider” leaving the subcontinent. |
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BSF, BDR to start joint patrolling Agartala, June 6 BSF’s Tripura, Cachar and Mizoram (TCM) frontier Inspector General M C Parmar told newspersons here today that the modalities for the “coordinated patrolling’’ were being finalised. The recent Director-General level meeting between the BSF and the BDR held in Dhaka had decided that “coordinated patrolling’’ of the two borders be started to check border crimes, trans-border movements and other illegal activities along the border. Mr Parmar, who recently took over the charge of the TCM frontier, refused to divulge measures taken along the Indo-Bangla border. He, however, said adequate security measures had been taken along the 1333.5 km long TCM frontier. He said a Home Ministry team led by a Joint Secretary would soon visit the border to review the progress of the works of ongoing barbed wire fencing. Only 8 to 9 km border line had been fenced by the Border Road Organisation on the West Tripura border. Mr Parmar said the para-military force was trying to strengthen its intelligence network with the help of local people adding that the response from the people, and also to the border management were overwhelming. At present, nine battalions of the BSF were guarding the Indo-Bangla border while 13 battalions were deployed along the entire TCM frontier. The Tripura Government had been demanding the deployment of at least 18 BSF battalions along the Indo-Bangla border with Tripura, which has a 865-km long international border. Meanwhile, the External Affairs Ministry Joint Secretary in charge of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar Mrs Neelam Deo, visited the Indo-Bangla border with Tripura last week. She also visited the disputed Muhuri Char at Belonia in south Tripura.
UNI |
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Fire in Uttaranchal House Dehra Dun, June 6 The fire, which started at 04.30 am was first noticed by armed constabulary jawans on overnight patrol duty who saw columns of thick smoke billowing from building ventilators. The fire engulfed the lobby of the building within minutes of breaking out but fire tenders managed to successfully cut off the blaze short of the door leading to the adjoining main Assembly Hall, which escaped any damage. Police officers who supervised the fire-fighting operations said that the fire was apparently caused by electrical short-circuiting as the master switch-board in the vicinity of the damaged portions was also found to be charred. Chief Minister N.D. Tiwari who reached the spot at six in the morning was joined immediately afterwards by Uttaranchal Assembly Speaker Yashpal Arya and other ministers, They inspected the damage caused to the main lobby. Later, taking stock of the situation with his ministerial colleagues and administrative officials, Mr Tiwari said that he would order a high-level probe into the incident and punish those found guilty. Taking a serious note of the fact that even mandatory checks on security from fire hazard were never carried out, the Chief Minister told the officials to carry out a detailed survey of the electrical system on a war footing and take immediate steps to overhaul the system using modern gadgets. The incident today comes within 48 hours of another unusual spectacle witnessed inside the Assembly Hall, when one of the wooden benches meant for the Treasury members gave way even as the Assembly session was in progress. The Chief Minister also directed the PWD officials to follow strict norms with respect to quality of work and warned that those found contravening rules would be dealt with firmly. Later in the day, addressing mediapersons, Assembly Speaker Yashpal Arya said that he had taken “most serious view” of the fact that his orders regarding suspension of officials found guilty in the case of breaking of the Assembly’s bench had not been carried out as yet. The Speaker, who reviewed the security measures with the Principal Secretary (Home) and the state Director-General of Police said that he had pointed out to the two official that the state Assembly campus was “most insecure” and that urgent steps were required for its safety. Mr Arya conceded that the Vidhan Sabha lacked in-house fire-fighting capabilities and there were also no emergency exits. |
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CBI seeks FBI help to arrest Rastogis New Delhi, June 6 The move comes close on heels of arrest of Narendra Rastogi and three others by the FBI for allegedly defrauding banks worldwide of an estimated $ 600 million by obtaining financing for sham transactions and then pledging them as collateral for loans. The CBI application sought FBI’s assistance in placing Narendra under provisional arrest pending initiation of a move to either seek this deportation or extradition here to stand trial. The CBI has been looking for Narendra Rastogi and his brothers and influential businessmen Virendera Rastogi and Ravinder Rastogi in connection with the fraudulent duty drawback from the export of scrap material. The CBI also wrote to the Scotland Yard asking them to place Virendera also under provisional arrest and later either deport or extradite him to India. The CBI informed their British counterparts that Interpol had already issued a Red Corner notice against Virendera Rastogi and the government had also revoked his passport to facilitate his deportation to the country. The CBI drew the attention of the Scotland Yard to an earlier application of the agency pending with it. Virendera’s house was also searched at the instance of the FBI in connection with the fruad committed by his brother in the USA. However, he was not placed under arrest. The CBI, meanwhile, has initiated a move to seek deportation of another Rastogi brother, Ravinder, whom the agency suspects to be a Dubai. In view of active co-operation between the CBI and the authorities in the United Arab Emirates, the agency was hopeful of seeking his deportation from the port city. The CBI alleges that Rastogi brothers had sought duty drawback on their export consignments of cycle spare parts to Hong Kong and some CIS countries when they, infact, exported scrap material. Another case of adoption of fradulent methods was pending before a Delhi court where their counsel had given an undertaking that they would appear before it on May 31. The fourth brother, Subash Rastogi, was arrested by the CBI on September 9 last year and was at present on bail.
PTI |
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NCP MLAs under tight security
in Indore Bhopal, June 6 Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh was learnt to have instructed the Indore district administration to ensure the safety and the necessary amenities to the NCP MLAs. Indore city Congress president Ujagar Singh and Indore Development Authority chairman Kripa Shankar Shukla received the Maharashtra contingent at the airport a little after midnight. BJP President Jana Krishnamurthi told mediapersons in Indore that security norms at the airport had been violated by taking the cars for the NCP MLAs up to the tarmac and that he would take up the matter with the Civil Aviation Ministry. |
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Jaiswal’s resignation
accepted New Delhi, June 6 Mr Jaiswal had resigned on June 4, saying he was resigning to enable the party leadership revamp the PCC. Change of the PCC chief in UP was on the cards and resignation of Mr Jaiswal is being seen a an move to pre-empt his removal. |
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