New Delhi, June 11
Ahead of the academic session anti-ragging sentiment has become stronger, with the R.K. Raghavan committee asking regulatory bodies to have strict anti-ragging norms for higher educational institutions.

Appointed by the Supreme Court to monitor anti-ragging measures at universities and colleges, the committee told the UGC and other such bodies to ensure that institutions under their ambit practiced zero tolerance towards ragging.

The committee met today to review the progress made by regulatory bodies and stakeholders asked by the Supreme Court to implement the committee’s recommendations. R. K. Raghavan, for his part, expressed disappointment over helplessness shown by the regulatory bodies in eliciting information from educational institutions on the subject.

UGC representatives, meanwhile, told the committee that they had constituted a separate cell to handle matters related to ragging in universities and colleges. The monitoring committee, however, felt that release of grants under various schemes of the UGC should be linked with compliance by institutions with the directions of the Supreme Court in this regard.

Incentives by way of higher grants should be provided by the UGC to higher educational institutions which ensure that ragging does not take place on their campuses, the committee said, besides asking regulatory bodies to instruct educational institutions to incorporate in their admission notices messages regarding “zero tolerance” towards ragging.

It also put the onus of maintaining standards of higher education on the institutions, recalling the Supreme Court observations that ragging lowered the standards of education.

“Wherever ragging is reported and institutions fail to react, regulatory bodies must enquire through their own fact-finding committees,” the committee said. It also asked the government to run multi-media campaign against ragging.

New Delhi, June 11
The Centre today agreed “in principle” to fund development of 11 towns in border districts of Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Gurdaspur under the border area development project (BADP).

Union home minister Shivraj Patil gave an assurance to this effect to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal who called on him at his residence here today.

Chief Minister's media adviser Harcharan Bains described the union home minister's response as "extremely positive and forthcoming". Badal had raised the issue of development of these border towns, including Jalalabad, Guru Harsahai, Ferozepur, Khem Karan and Dera Baba Nanak situated in a radius of 10/-12 km of the international border.

The Chief Minister sought Rs 92.86 crore under central schemes for improving infrastructure, including water supply and sewerage system in these border towns. The Chief Minister also sought compensation of Rs 9.25 crore for farmers whose land fell beyond the border fence as they had been facing major hardship for country’s defence. The farmers will receive Rs 5,000 per acre for total affected area measuring 18,500 acres.

Badal also impressed upon Patil to release Rs 140 crore for capital expenditure for proposed Maharaja Ranjit Singh police university to be set up in the state apart from recurring expenditure of Rs 4.85 crore per annum. 

New Delhi, June 11
Any relief package to the airline industry will now depend upon the outcome of the empowered committee of state finance ministers scheduled to meet on June 16. Aviation minister Praful Patel today said the states would consider cutting sales tax on jet fuel to help airlines tide over large losses due to rising ATF costs.

Sales taxes are fixed by states without reference to the government and at present ATF is being taxed anywhere between 4 and 28 per cent across the country. Patel said he wanted the states to seriously consider the proposal of bringing down sales tax in the ATF to provide relief to the aviation industry.

The losses for 2008-09 for the aviation industry have been estimated at Rs 8,000 crore, double of the last fiscal, largely due to rise in ATF prices.

The aviation minister met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and finance minister P. Chidambaram to apprise them about issues plaguing the aviation sector, especially losses incurred by all airlines due to high input cost - the prices of ATF primarily that has been growing up dramatically.

In his presentation to the Prime Minister, Patel asked for the ATF to be notified as declared goods under the CST Act and relief to airlines from existing sales tax of 25 per cent to 3 per cent.

Financial health of the industry was being adversely affected by high fuel prices and higher taxation on it. However, the final call can only be taken after states take a collective decision. “This is an extraordinary situation.

Recommendations

l Inter-ministerial group headed by the cabinet secretary to devise time-bound response to the crisis.

l Direct or indirect intervention to reduce ATF prices for at least a year. Airlines to give undertaking to maintain the fare at reasonable level.

New Delhi, June 11
Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, today demanded a probe by the CBI into how administrative services officials bungled during the recent panchayat and Zila Parishad polls in the state.

Bhattal, while speaking to the media, said she had also submitted a memorandum after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in which she had asked the Governor of Punjab should be asked to give a report on “state sponsored violence” in the state that is ruled by the SAD-BJP combine.

Bhattal, who is the PPCC chief, said the Akalis needed to be reminded that propagation of violence was a dangerous strategy, one that could result in rising extremist sentiments. The law and order situation could spiral out of control in the state.

The ruling combine seems oblivious to the danger and the lawlessness in Punjab threatens both the nation’s internal and external security, said Bhattal, while adding that the report of the Governor should be sought within seven days.

New Delhi, June 11
The Congress today countered the BJP’s criticism over the delay in the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, stating that his act was “unpardonable” but the law will have to take its own course with regard to his death sentence. Having been on the backfoot on this issue so far, the Congress today turned the tables on the BJP by asking why former home minister L.K. Advani had sat on the 15 mercy petitions of death row convicts which were pending with the NDA government.

Going on the offensive, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari today pointed out that 28 mercy petitions were pending with the President, including one prior to 1997, 15 during the NDA rule and 12 since the Congress-led UPA came to power in 2004. Afzal Guru’s petition, according to him, is at the bottom of this list. Tewari maintained that these petitions would have to be dealt with in their chronological order for which the due process of law would be followed, adding that the law does not make a distinction between different cases.

Pointing to the BJP’s charge that the UPA government was dithering on this issue to appease the minorities, Tewari said attempts were being made to project Muslims, constituting a sizeable section of the country's population, as anti-national. He condemned these attempts and said the minorities were as patriotic as any other section of the population, emphasising that Afzal has committed an "unpardonable act.”

Tewari regretted that the BJP is stooping so low as to communalise the cases of those responsible for the attack on Parliament. “BJP is only talking about one person ... but what had happened in the 15 other cases,” Tewari added.

New Delhi, June 11
The Left parties are preparing to meet soon to review their relations with the ruling UPA. “The discussion will not be limited to the Indo-US nuclear deal alone,” said CPI national secretary D. Raja in an exclusive meeting with The Tribune.

The government is hoping to secure Left consent for going to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to sign an agreement which would open the doors for India to buy nuclear fuel from the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) at a meeting of the UPA-Left coordination committee scheduled for June 18.

Even as there is little likelihood of the Left consenting to this, at least for now, the Left parties are equally upset with the spiraling inflation coupled with the latest hike in prices of petrol, diesel and LPG.

On the petrol price hike, the Left had suggested to the government to spare the common man the ordeal of price hike and instead impose windfall tax on private oil companies owning refineries in India.

The government response to their demand was weak and half-hearted, commented Left sources, acknowledging a nominal reduction in customs duty on import of petrol.

Raja said, “Even though the Left has been opposing certain policies and actions of this government, it has been losing credibility because it is being identified in the people’s eye with this government.”

The CPI national secretary said, “We all have to sit together and examine our relations with this government.”

Kolkata, June 11
The indefinite bandh in Darjeeling was called off today in the face of strong public resentment against it. The decision to call it off today was as sudden as the strike call by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) was on Monday.

GJM spokesperson Roshan Giri, however, said they were calling off the bandh till the next Saturday for facilitating the stranded tourists and other people in Darjeeling, Sikkim and Bhutan to safely return to their places.

“We will relaunch our agitation and bandh after Saturday more vigorously for a separate Gorkhaland”, which, he said, could only fulfil the needs and aspirations of the hill people.

As the news of the calling off the strike reached state chief secretary A.K. Deb at the Writers Buildings around 4 pm from Darjeeling, an anxious Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhttacharjee, was immediately informed. The Chief Minister held an official meeting in his chamber and discussed how normalcy could be restored in the hills.

Bhattacharjee expressed satisfaction that good sense had finally prevailed on the GJM leaders and workers and the indefinite strike had been withdrawn.

He hoped the GJM would now come to the negotiating table for resolving their problems under the present frame of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), which had been already granted some administrative and financial power as per the DGHC agreement of 1982.

GJM president Bimal Gurung, however, refused to accept the Chief Minister’s invitation for a talk. He reiterated they would only respond to the Chief Minister’s call if their demand for a separate Gorkhaland was accepted in principle. Gurung said the hill people’s problems could only be solved with the formation of a separate state. Earlier, the GJM central committee held a prolonged meeting at Darjeeling town and reviewed the bandh situation vis-à-vis the problems of the stranded tourists.

Though most of the stranded tourists of Darjeeling had returned to the planes at Siliguri and elsewhere, over 5,000 tourists, many of them foreigners, were still stranded in Sikkim and Bhutan following obstructions at several entry points in Darjeeling by the GJM activists.

It was stated that Sikkim Chief Minister Pabwan Chambling, who himself was supporting the GJM’s movement, had phoned Gurung in the morning from Gangtok and advised him to call off the bandh.

Guwahati, June 11
In a pre-dawn operation Army today gunned down three hardcore ULFA militants, including a senior cadre who had masterminded killings of Hindi-speaking people in eastern Assam districts.

Army spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said troops of Dah Division of the Army shot dead three hardcore ULFA militants - Madhurjya Gohain, Baba Dadra and Krishnamoni Gogoi - following an encounter near Borbam Tea Estate in Dibrugarh district of eastern Assam. The Army cordoned off the hideout of the militants late last night and the ensuing gunbattle continued till the wee hours today.

Among the killed militants, Madhurya Gohain was a mastermind behind killing of 72 Hindi-speaking people in eastern Assam in January last year. He was also involved in killing of four Hindi-speaking persons in March this year.

The Army seized three AK-56 assault rifles, five magazines, five detonators and some incriminating documents from the slain ULFA cadres. The Army described the operation a major blow to the ULFA given that the killed militants were very active in eastern Assam districts and were top leaders in ‘C’ company of the outfit’s 28th battalion that often strikes terror in eastern districts of the state.

The Army official said Gohain was one of the most wanted top leaders of the ULFA and his elimination would be a major setback to the banned outfit.

In the last meeting of the strategy group on the counter-insurgency Unified Command, it was decided that there would be no let up on the on-going intensive operation against the ULFA militants notwithstanding the outfit’s propaganda machinery clamouring for conditional dialogue with the government of India to find a political solution to the vexed ‘Asom-India conflict’.

Guwahati, June 11
The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) has raised an alarm about illegal Bangladeshi migrants becoming majority chunk of voters in at least 40 legislative constituencies in Assam and demanded Prime Minister’s intervention in sealing the porous India-Bangladesh border in Assam to prevent further infiltration from Bangladesh.

The AASU leaders yesterday pointed out that porous border with Bangladesh in Assam sector contribute to the advantage of anti-Indian forces like the Pakistani ISI to spread their tentacles in north-eastern region posing serious threat to internal security.

The students’ organisation has knocked at the door of the Prime Minister to highlight the failure of the centre as well as the Assam government to check infiltration of illegal Bangladeshi migrants to Assam by sealing the border as per the deadline set for December 2006.

“In Assam, the situation is so alarming that illegal Bangladeshi migrants who have acquired voting rights, thanks to their political masters, now determine political representatives in more than 40 legislative Assembly constituencies,” the AASU submitted before the Prime Minister. The organisation has also demanded action against ‘corrupt ministers with questionable track records’ in the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government in Assam.

The AASU delegation, which met the Prime Minister in New Delhi, submitted before him that the ‘embarrassing episode’ of former state education minister Ripun Bora who had landed in Tihar Jail after trying to bribe a CBI investigating officer probing a murder case against him, had just exposed the rot that had plagued the Congress ministry in Assam.

The AASU in its memorandum demanded CBI investigation against at least five more ministers in the state who have faced public allegations of corruption and criminal activities. The AASU mentioned the names of health minister Himanta Bishwa Sharma, excise minister Gautom Roy, water resources minister Bharat Chandra Narah, forest minister Rockybul Hussain and minister for industries and power Pradyut Bardoloi in the memorandum demanding CBI investigation against them.

Karwadi/Jaipur, June 11
Hopes of resumption of the dialogue between agitating Gujjars and the Rajasthan government receded today as the two sides remained deadlocked on the issue of release of women protesters arrested during the stir for ST status.

Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla said, “We will not go to Jaipur for the second round of talks till the jailed women are released.”

He told PTI on phone from Karwadi, the epicentre of the agitation in Bharatpur district, that "the government has gone back on its word with regard to release of the arrested protesters".

A senior Rajasthan government officer, who was in touch with the Gujjar leadership, said Bainsla "is adamant and is not ready for talks till his demands are met".

Besides the release of the women arrested for damaging a rail track in stir-hit Dausa district, Bainsla demanded the release of the men taken into custody in the wake of the agitation and restoration of electricity and water and jammed telecommunication network in the agitation affected areas.

Officials in the Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's office had said last night that Bainsla, spearheading the protests, had conveyed his readiness to hold talks in Jaipur after the two sides had held preliminary parleys in Bayana on Monday.

This followed mediatory efforts between the state government and the Gujjars by spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar after Bainsla set pre-conditions which had cast uncertainty on the dialogue process.

Meanwhile, the bail applications of 24 arrested Gujjar women were rejected today by a court in Bandikui in Dausa district. One woman protester did not move for bail. All these women are currently in judicial custody.

On the course of the agitation, Bainsla, who is the chairman of the Gurjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti, said the blockaded rails tracks would not be vacated till the Gujjars were granted Scheduled Tribe status.

When contacted, a Rajasthan government spokesman said in Jaipur that there is "no breakthrough in holding of talks today".

The government's key interlocutor S.N. Thanvi, who is camping in the troubled Bharatpur district, said earlier in the day that he had not succeeded in getting in touch with Bainsla to discuss the issue of resumption of the dialogue. — PTI

Dehra Dun, June 11
Amid controversy over the construction of hydro-electric projects on the Ganga, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Maj Gen B.C. Khanduri (retd) today relaid the foundation stone of the 480 MW Pala Maneri hydro-electric project at Uttarkashi today.

Meanwhile, Prof G.D. Aggarwal, an eminent environmental scientist and a former professor of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, has decided to start a fast unto death against the construction of hydro-electric projects upstream of Uttarkashi town. He will start his proposed fast at Uttarkashi on the occasion of "Ganga Dussehra" on June 13.

A large number of students and disciples of Prof Aggarwal, who is known as a “saint-scientist”, are expected to join him in his campaign.

Prof Aggarwal argues that in the past few years, the continuity, quantity, quality and regime of flow of this precious river was being disrupted for generation of hydro-electricity and long stretches of the river are already becoming dry downstream of Maneri in Uttarkashi. In the near future, this might become the state of the entire river.

"As a serious student of environmental sciences and a faithful Hindu, this is hard for me to swallow, I strongly believe that at least Bhagirathi upstream of Uttarkashi should be spared," he said.

Five more projects on various tributaries are under construction up stream of Uttarkashi and 20 more medium-sized projects downstream are under various stages of planning or construction.

Speaking on the occasion, Khanduri said that his government was able to complete the 308 MW Maneri Bhali phase-II project and hoped that Pala Maneri project would be completed in a record time of 42 months.

However, opposition Congress charged the Chief Minister of re-laying the foundation stone of Pala Maneri project. "Former Chief Minister N.D.Tiwari laid the foundation stone of the Pala Maneri project on February 10, 2004, at Oongi village near Uttarkashi," former Uttarkhand power minister Amrita Rawat told The Tribune. She alleged that the Chief Minister wanted to capitalise on the work done by the previous Congress government in the power sector.

Khanduri would be facing the heat from Hindutva forces also. K.V. Govindacharya, a former senior BJP leader has extended his support to Prof Aggarwal in his fight for the survival of the Ganga.

Dehra Dun, June 11
While a delayed Kailash Mansarovar Yatra would start from June 13, there is still uncertainty about the India-China border trade this year.

The traders on the Indian side are still uncertain about the barter trade as no passes have been issued to them this year.

Along with the yatra, traders on both sides of the border start their barter trade. Indian traders are allowed to go up to Taklakot across Lipulekh Pass while the Chinese are allowed to come to Gunji on the Indian side.

However, this year, the Chinese government did not allow the yatra on its scheduled date. Later, only 10 groups of pilgrims instead of the usual 16 were allowed to go for the yatra. This year the curtailed yatra would commence from June 13. But the uncertainty about border trade has disappointed the Indian traders. Normally, the border trade used to start by June 15.

But this year, according to Pitthoragarh district officials, there is no word from the external affairs and the commerce ministries about issuing trade passes to Indian traders. An official sent to New Delhi to get the usual clearances from the ministries has come back empty- handed, according to district officials.

Indian and Chinese traders exchange goods like jaggery, salt, tobacco, shoes and even mountain goats and Yaks. There was a scare in the Indian silk markets in 2002 and 2003 when India traders imported cheap raw Chinese silk through barter trade threatening Indian silk manufacturers. The Indian government banned the import of such raw silk.

However, over the years the barter trade has dwindled from Rs 14 crore in 2004 to less than Rs 2 crore in 2007. Padam Singh Rayappa, president of the India-China Border Trade Council, has expressed disappointment at the turn of events.

Following protests by Tibetan refugees against China in the wake of Olympics being held in Beijing, the Chinese government curtailed the yatra and yet not allowed start of the barter trade.

Dehra Dun, June 11
Uttarakhand Chief Minister B. C. Khanduri,while describing the Centre’s request on the prices of petroleum products as “laughable and surprising”,yesterday decided to reduce the prices of petrol and diesel by 50 paisa per litre and LPG cylinder by Rs 12.48.

Khanduri described the situation following a hike in the petroleum products by the Centre and the subsequent appeal to the state governments to reduce the taxes as “laughable and surprising”.

“On the one hand, the Centre has hiked the prices and on the other hand, it wants the state governments to reduce taxes to give relief to consumers,” Khanduri added.

He said the decision to reduce the prices was taken by the state Cabinet at its meeting here.“We were dictated by the priorities of the people of the state and women are the worst sufferers of the LPG price hike. So, we decided to give a relief of Rs 12.48 on each cylinder for domestic use,” he said.

Khanduri further said the state would incur a loss of Rs 51 crore on tax cut on petrol, diesel and LPG. Asked about the minimum relief on petrol and diesel prices given by him as compared to other states, he stated that there should not be any comparison between the states on the issue. 

BRIEFLY

4 injured in blast in temple
JOWAI: Four persons, including two children, were seriously injured when a bomb exploded in a temple premise in Meghalaya's Nartiang village in the wee hours on Wednesday. DSP Mukesh Kumar Singh said that those injured had been identified as Shamuli Deshmukh (32), Mala Deshmukh (25), Oni Muskut (6) and Chunu Deshmukh (one and half-year-old girl). He also said that Don Sumer, the prime accused had been arrested, while the police were on the hunt to trace his two associates. — UNI

‘Tigers may become 1st large predators to vanish’
NEW DELHI: Tigers are likely to be the first species of large predators to vanish in historic times if their population continues to decline, according to the World Bank. "To secure the future of tiger in the wild and save it from poachers, financial and material resources and a strong policy commitment is needed," it said. Tiger numbers have declined from over 100,000 a century ago to just 4,000 today with 3,000 of them in India. — PTI

20 girls indisposed after inhaling chlorine gas
TUMKUR (KARNATAKA): Twenty girl students of a private hostel were indisposed after inhaling chlorine gas, which leaked from a tank here on Wednesday. The Tumkur municipal authorities had stored chlorine in a tank and it leaked, the police said. The police attributed lack of safety measures for the leak. The gas leak had spread to a radius of three km, affecting several residents and forcing the police to divert traffic. “The leak has been plugged,” the police said. — PTI

3 ULFA militants killed
Guwahati: In a pre-dawn operation Army on Wednesday gunned down three hardcore ULFA militants, including a senior cadre who had masterminded killings of Hindi-speaking people in eastern Assam districts. The Army cordoned off the hideout of the militants on Tuesday night and the ensuing gunbattle continued till the wee hours on Wednesday. The Army seized three AK-56 assault rifles, five magazines, five detonators and some incriminating documents from the slain ULFA cadres.
 — TNS