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Countrywide alert ahead of Independence Day
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Warning of attack on Tarapur
Left asks PM to touch burning issues
President’s address to nation today
Operations against ULFA suspended
Heavy rain kills 7 in Chhattisgarh
One held for trying to enter Tihar jail LeT module busted; 2 held in Mumbai Two female foetuses found, probe ordered
Air Chief admits corruption in armed forces
India takes serious note of mix-up of bodies
DD channel in Urdu from Aug 15
Minister talked to don in jail: TV channel
Cong united over Pathak report: Scindia
Answersheet evaluation racket unearthed
CBSE supplementary results out
Oversight panel report on Aug 31
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Countrywide alert ahead of Independence Day
New Delhi, August 13 A high-level meeting to review security arrangements held today considered a US warning of a likely Al Qaida attack and intelligence inputs by different agencies in the country about specific and general information, before deciding to increase the vigil across the country. The threat this year is believed to be mainly from Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami and Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen
Bangladesh, who are suspected to have entered into an alliance with the banned SIMI, official sources said. The national capital, which will witness the main celebrations, was virtually turned into an impregnable
fortes with gun-toting personnel of the Delhi police and paramilitary forces seen guarding markets, railway bridges and tracks and flyovers. No vehicular movement, except in extreme circumstances, will be allowed in the vicinity of the Red Fort on Tuesday when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
unfurls the Tricolour and addresses the nation. The Capital has been declared a no-fly zone for August 15 and air defence guns have been placed at strategic locations to ward off possible aerial attacks using unmanned or microlight aircraft. These steps were taken following intelligence reports that terrorists were planning to carry out suicide attacks at Shantivan, the memorial of Jawaharlal Nehru, and Chandni Chowk. Sources said militants were believed to have been camping in Delhi since April to plan such attacks. Snipers, metal detectors, x-ray machines, sniffer dogs, radio frequency jammers and security cameras were also being deployed and troops armed with machine guns were patrolling the airport in New Delhi, officials said. Security at vital installations like the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai and the Kalpakkam nuclear project in Tamil Nadu has been enhanced with the deployment of additional contingents of NSG commandos. The extra security came after intelligence agencies alerted authorities of possible suicide attacks at these facilities. Key facilities in Bangalore and Hyderabad were also given extra security cover following reports that militants of Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) might target them.
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Warning of attack on Tarapur
Mumbai, August 13 Commandos of the National Security Group, CISF personnel, the Army, Navy and Air Force have been tasked with protecting the country's main nuclear facility. While access by land to the complex is controlled by five tiers of security, the danger could come from the sea or the air, the police here admits. Central intelligence agencies have warned that Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists active in Kashmir may have smuggled in hand-held missiles for an attack on the nuclear facilities here. These missiles with a range of about eight km may be fired from either land or sea. Alternatively, terrorists could also crash a small low-flying aircraft into the facility, law enforcement agencies have been warned. Access to the residences and offices in the complex has been curtailed following the terror warning. The 12,000 employees who come to work here every day have been put under tight scrutiny. The anti terror squad (ATS) of the Mumbai police which had arrested 12 persons for suspected links to the LeT are questioning them for the outfit's plans to attack the nuclear complex, sources said.
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Left asks PM to touch burning issues
New Delhi, August 13 The Communists have also reminded the Prime Minister of the “meagre” allocation on public health and education and how his government was toeing the “discredited” foreign and economic policies of the NDA regime. The Left’s Independence Day list to Dr Singh is full. He must explain to what extent the gigantic Rs 75,000 crore Bharat Nirman Project has been implemented and what is the fate of pending legislations like the Unorganised Workers’ Bill, Agricultural Workers’ Bill and the Tribal Bill. In separate interviews to UNI, the leaders of the CPM, CPI, RSP and the Forward Bloc say the Prime Minister should reiterate the government’s commitment to the Common Minimum Programme. CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan said: “Recent experience shows that the government has made mere announcements and not implemented the commitments honestly. For example, the promise to provide social security to over 370 million unorganised workers, farmers’ suicides and the grave agrarian crisis in various parts of the country. In Vidarbha alone, over 100 farmers have committed suicide since the Prime Minister’s visit to the area.” Mr Bardhan, a veteran communist and freedom fighter, said Dr Singh would be speaking with a sense of mixed feelings as there have been “very little achievements” since his last Independence Day speech. The government had enacted several legislations like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the Right to Information Act, which might benefit the people if implemented honestly, but there were several other issues on which it had not acted, he said. But the areas of concerns for the masses were much wider like the government’s “surrender” to the WTO, in particular on the imports and exports of agricultural produce which had led to sky-rocketing of prices of essential commodities, he said adding the transportation cost had gone up leading to increase in the prices of petroleum products during the UPA’s two-and-a-half year rule, said Mr Bardhan. CPI national secretary Shamim Faizi said concessions had been accorded to the rich classes but the allocation for education and public health had remained low. “The monsoon session of Parliament was expected to pass the Tribal Bill but that has not materialised. Also the Women’s Reservation Bill is hanging fire,” said Mr Faizi, editor of party weekly New Age.
— UNI
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President’s address to nation today
New Delhi, August 13 The PIB has made special arrangements to webcast the President’s address in collaboration with the National Information Centre. The webcast will be available on
www.pib.nic . simultaneously with its telecast on Doordarshan. The Prime Minister’s address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day will also be webcast at 0700 hrs onwards. The PIB and NIC have been collaborating for webcasts of the Prime Minister’s addresses and other important events. An audio visual archive has been created on PIB’s website for video on demand.
— UNI
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Operations against ULFA suspended New Delhi, August 13 “We have advised the Army and other security forces in Assam to suspend their operations against ULFA for a few days,” Union Home Secretary V.K. Duggal said. The decision to suspend the operations — meeting a key demand of the ULFA, is seen as a gesture as part of the government’s efforts to bring the militant group’s leadership to the peace talks. The decision comes days ahead of a crucial meeting between the mediators between United Liberation Front of Asom and the Centre here next week to discuss modalities for initiation of direct talks between them. — PTI
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Heavy rain kills 7 in Chhattisgarh
New Delhi, August 13 The flood situation in Andhra Pradesh continued to be grim, while it showed considerable improvement in central Gujarat. ‘’As many as 108 villages were affected by the August 4-5 flood in Dantewada’s Konta, Sukma and Bhopalpatnam, rendering about 5,000 families homeless. The flooding affected 96,333 persons,’’ Collector K.R. Pisda said. Many islands and habitations along river Krishna in Andhra Pradesh are under threat after 5.2 lakh cusecs of rainwater was discharged from Nagarjunasagar to the Prakasam barrage this morning. The Nagarjunasagar dam was receiving heavy inflows due to discharges from Jurala and Srisailam reservoirs. Official sources said the water would reach the Prakasam barrage by tomorrow and thereafter released into sea, downstream of the barrage. A red alert has been sounded in Bellary district in Karnataka as the water level in Tungabhadra Reservoir has touched the maximum level of 1633 feet with the inflow crossing 125,000 cusecs. Tungabhadra Reservoir authorities had increased the release to 103,000 cusecs with all the 33 crest gates opened. The South West Monsoon remained active over Kerala as rain occurred in almost all places in the state and at a few places in Lakshadweep during the past 24 hours.
— UNI
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One held for trying to enter Tihar jail New Delhi, August 13 Ajaz Ansari was intercepted by the ITBP personnel on duty at around 10.30 am while he was moving towards gate number six in a suspicious manner. The 20-year-old youth was immediately taken into custody and questioned by security personnel at the prison and was later handed over to the Delhi police. After initial interrogation, the police suspects that he was mentally deranged but they are not taking any chances in view of the threat perception prevailing in the Capital ahead of the Independence Day. A mobile phone and a diary have been seized from the possession of the youth, a resident of Delhi who belongs to Bihar. The national Capital is in a state of high alert after specific intelligence inputs warned of terrorist attacks to subvert Independence Day celebrations here. — PTI
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LeT module busted; 2 held in Mumbai Mumbai, August 13 “The duo will be interrogated to find out if they are involved in the July 11 serial blasts or know the persons who hatched the conspiracy,” a top Mumbai police official said. The police is also on the lookout for three more members of the module who are at large and could prove a potential danger to law and order in the city, the official said. The two persons arrested today have been identified as Shabbir Ahmed Mushiullah, a resident of Malegaon in Nasik, and Nafiz Ahmed Jamir Ahmed Ansari, a resident of Govandi in north-east Mumbai. They were arrested by Mumbai crime branch under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and produced in a local court, which remanded them to police custody till August 17. — PTI
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Two female foetuses found, probe ordered Jaipur, August 13 One foetus was recovered from the garbage disposal of Janana Hospital and another at the Khetari area last night after which the government today set up a probe committee, an official said. Janana Hospital superintendent Beena Bhatnagar had been asked to head the inquiry and submit a report at the earliest, Technical Education Minister G.S. Tiwari told reporters here. A number of women’s groups under the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) condemned the incident alleging it was the fifth such episode in the state within a month. — PTI
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Air Chief admits corruption in armed forces
Ahmedabad, August 13 He was speaking at the golden jubilee celebrations of the Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) late last night. However, he was quick to clarify that only certain Army officials were corrupt and that they were very few in number. “Of course, they had brought dishonour to us,” Mr Tyagi added. The Air Chief also warned the Indian political class against ignoring upgrades in the armed forces from time-to-time as political and economical stability could not be achieved and sustained without internal and external security of the country. He said: “We have been at war with Pakistan since 1947. These include not just the few declared wars in the past six decades but also the low intensity ones. Pakistan has changed its strategy from an open war to a low-cost militancy war.” Stating that the opening of borders for bilateral trade relationship with China were a welcome step in the present scenario of globalisation and the WTO regime, he warned that “we shouldn’t ignore that it is a friend with a Big Gun. We have experienced it in 1962 too.” The Air Marshal added that it was a political mistake that India didn’t use Air Force in 1962 fearing retaliation from the Chinese Air Force. During the question-answer session, Mr Tyagi also admitted that some IAF pilots wanted to quit the services to join private airlines. “However, they are very few in numbers, hardly 10-15, and not 200 as reported in media,” he clarified. In reply to another question, Air Chief denied the charges of exploitation and harassment of women officers during service or at the time of entrance procedures.
— UNI
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India takes serious note of mix-up of bodies New Delhi, August 13 The government has instructed the Indian Embassy in Teheran to take up the matter very strongly with the shipping company where the Indian national was employed. Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed expressing surprise at the mix-up said the government had instructed its embassy in Teheran to take up the matter very strongly with the shipping company and take appropriate steps to bring back the deceased engineer Subodh's body. “We are surprised how it happened. The government has issued instructions to the embassy to take up the matter very seriously with the shipping company,” Mr Ahamed told a TV channel. On July 21, an Indian national Subodh Kumar Tiwari, who was employed by Ali Hamid Siddiqui Shipping Company, Khor, Dubai, was killed in an accident at Kharkland Port, Iran. The External Affairs Ministry advised the Indian Embassy in Teheran to ask the shipping company to make arrangement for sending the body to India. The shipping company arranged for the body to be flown back to India by Iran Air flight no 810 to Mumbai and onward to Delhi by Indian Airlines Fflight reaching on August 8. However, when the body was flown in, the family members in India were shocked to discover that the body was not that of Subodh but that of an unidentified woman. — UNI
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DD channel in Urdu from Aug 15
New Delhi, August 13 It also said it was planning to allocate 55 per cent of all government advertisements through DAVP to newspapers in vernacular languages from next year. Announcing the proposed launch of the channel at a function here, Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh said this was not an ordinary decision but a significant milestone in the uplift of the Muslim community. Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said the Prime Minister would inaugurate the channel at a function here. Unveiling plans to allocate more advertisements to vernacular newspapers, Dasmunsi said: “I have raised the share from 25 per cent to 40 per cent and we are now planning to give 55 per cent government advertisements to language newspapers from 2007.” This was being done because “strengthening of language press means strengthening of Indian democracy”, he told an interactive session organised by the National Urdu Media Conference. “The channel will disseminate information in terms of news, views, policy decisions and cultural programmes,” Dasmunsi said. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry will appoint best people from Urdu journalism, literature and culture for the channel, he said.
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Minister talked to don in jail: TV channel New Delhi, August 13 However, Mr Gavit, in his response to the story on the channel, said he did not know the don and that he had never met him. He claimed that the voice recorded in the tape was not his but somebody else’s and alleged conspiracy to frame him, as he was a tribesman. He also threatened to sue the channel for defamation. The channel, citing various proofs collected by it about the alleged conversation between Mr Gavit and Bhati, said their talk in May had lasted a few minutes. It also claimed that they had got the minister’s voice matched through a test. The TV channel clarified that it was not its sting operation but a recording of a conversation tapped by an official agency. — UNI
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Cong united over Pathak report: Scindia
Gwalior, August 13 “There is no difference within the Congress over the issue,” he said. Regarding Mr Singh’s comment about Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mr Scindia said India was fortunate to have an economist Prime Minister, under whose leadership the country would emerge as an economic superpower. Calling upon political parties to come together against terrorism, he said everybody must rise over politics for the country’s welfare.
— UNI
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Answersheet evaluation racket unearthed Agra, August 13 The police said it raided a house in a lawyers’ colony in the city following specific information that a racket in the evaluation of answersheets was going on there. The students who allotted marks were paid as low as Rs 2 per sheet, they said. The arrested students belonged to a technical management institute in Agra, the police said, adding they were caught evaluating answersheets of professional courses. The leader of the group, Baijnath, alias Ravi, told his interrogators that he used to receive bundles of answersheets through a Ghaziabad professor. R.P. Singh, the professor, had been arrested. Ravi said he used to get Rs 10 for giving marks in each sheet, according to the police. The boys he had engaged were paid at the rate of Rs 2 per sheet. Ravi said the professor had got a contract for the evaluation of a lakh of answer sheets of Chaudhary Charan Singh University in Meerut. The students said they were told to give marks according to handwriting and sketches in the answersheets. Some of the evaluators were not even teenagers, the police said. — PTI
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CBSE supplementary results out
New Delhi, August 13 The CBSE advised all schools coming under the Delhi region to collect the results from the Deputy Director of Education concerned at 2 pm tomorrow, a press note said. Private candidates were directed to collect their results from their respective examination centres. Results would also be available on CBSE websites
www.cbse.nic.in and www.cbseresults.nic.in
. — PTI |
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Oversight panel report on Aug 31 Chennai, August 13 He told reporters at the airport that some reports were awaited by subgroups under the committee and once they were received, the final report would be submitted to the Central Government. — PTI |
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