Mumbai, June 16
Admiral Gorshkov, the aircraft carrier ordered by the Indian Navy from Russia, has been delayed by several years.

But the delivery of the MiG 29K fighter aircraft, ordered for operating on board the aircraft carrier, will begin soon.

Naval sources say that the aircraft may be used for training purposes or mothballed till the carrier, renamed INS Vikramaditya, is delivered.

As per the deal signed between India and Russia, the former agreed to buy 12 single-seater MiG-29K and four twin-seater MiG-29 KUB aircraft under the original $1.47 billion deal.

But typical of the bungling seen in the bureaucracy, the Russians were allowed to demand more for the aircraft carrier whose delivery was delayed due to a series of mishaps even while work on the aircraft went on as per the original schedule.

Naval sources say that the MiG 29K is as good as useless if for any reason India decides not to take delivery of Gorshkov.

But this has not deterred the defence establishment from proceeding with training crew and equipping the aircraft.

Sources say that the training facilities for the MiG 29 aircraft are being built at the Vasco da Gama naval base in Goa.

According to present indications, Admiral Gorshkov will be delivered not later than 2012, more than three years after the MiG 29K aircraft arrive.

India has already agreed to spend another $650 million but the Russians are demanding $1.2 million more.

Defence analysts abroad feel that the Russians may never deliver Admiral Gorshkov and may choose to deploy the aircraft carrier with its own navy due to the
changing geo-political conditions. It is not clear what would happen to the aircraft in that case.

The MiG-29K and the MiG-29KUB, to be delivered to India, are made by the MiG Corporation at its Lukhovitsky plant, near Moscow. Naval crews who would operate the aircraft are also being trained in Russia.

Reports that the US government was offering its Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier to
the Indian Navy has been dismissed as a hoax by the Indian naval chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta.

International defence publications had reported that the US was offering the carrier to India for free on the condition that it purchases the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets for deployment on board.

New Delhi, June 16
Sri Lanka today indirectly ridiculed Pakistan’s argument that ‘jihadi’ elements in J&K were ‘freedom fighters’ as it called for collective efforts by SAARC nations to combat the menace.

Addressing a press conference here, Sri Lankan foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama said: “A terrorist is a terrorist…one person’s terrorist can’t be a freedom fighter for another. There is no debate on that.”

His comments assume significance as Sri Lanka is scheduled to host the 15th SAARC Summit in Colombo in August. The issue of terrorism will be high on the agenda.

Bogollagama, who is on a two-day visit to India, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee and extended them invitations for the SAARC Summit.

Asked whether Sri Lanka was in a position to host an incident-free SAARC Summit, Bogollagama said his country had recently successfully hosted an international youth ministers’ summit and some high-level visits by world leaders.

On whether India was feeling jittery that Sri Lanka was buying arms from China and Pakistan to grapple with the insurgency in the island nation, he said: “India is a big country, it won’t get jittery about anything.”

On the ongoing LTTE violence, Bogollagama said Sri Lanka was of the firm view that political problems should be resolved by political means.

Kolkata, June 16
The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) resumed its indefinite shutdown in the Darjeeling hills today after the cabinet core committee, headed by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, finalised the decision of re-constituting the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, which would be given larger autonomy and more financial and administrative powers.

A special development package was also prepared for an overall improvement of the hill people. The committee, however, rejected the Gorkhaland demand.

Meanwhile, Bhattacharjee will be holding an all-party meeting in Kolkata tomorrow for resolving the on-going crisis in which the GJM has not been invited.

But the main opposition parties, the Trinamool Congress and the SUCI, will be boycotting the meeting.

Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee felt that without the presence of the GJM, the meeting would be meaningless.

She criticised the Chief Minister for not inviting the GJM on a flimsy ground when some other so-called un-recognised parties supporting the CPM had been invited.

Bhattacharjee had invited the GJM separately for bilateral talks on June 18, which Gurung had declined.

He said they had no faith and confidence in the Chief Minister and also the CPM, which, he alleged, had played a nasty political game in the hills with the help of Subhas Ghising, who had betrayed the hill people for gaining his personal interests.

Meanwhile, Left front chairman Biman Bose today once again requested Gurung to meet the CM across the table and discuss how the on-going problems in the hills could be solved immediately.

He asked the GJM to abandon the separate Gorkhaland demand, which neither the Centre nor the state government could accept.

In the new phase of the agitation, all schools, colleges and other educational institutions have been exempted from the purview of the bandh along with the transshipment of foodgrains, other essentials, hospitals and emergency services.

The tea gardens and cinchona cultivations have also been exempted. From tomorrow, striking GJM workers, will also be observing mass relay fast in the plains at Siliguri, the Duars and the Terai region in support of their demand.

GJM president Bimal Gurung today sent fresh letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee requesting them to hold tri-partite meetings to resolve the crisis adding that they were ready to attend the meeting “unconditionally”.

New Delhi, June 16
Monsoon-2008, which set a 108-year record by arriving in Delhi 14 days ahead of its normal onset date of June 29, is likely to continue with "uniformly distributed" rainfall during the remaining season as well though some weakening in the system is likely after next two to three days.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is also trying to figure out reasons behind the earliest monsoon onset in the recorded Met history in Delhi.

According to available data, dating back to 1901, some of early onset dates in the capital include June 16, 1998, June 17, 1925, June 19, 1934 and June 21, 1933.

Director of IMD's Pune-based National Climate Centre M. Rajeevan told The Tribune today that so far the exact reasons behind the early onset had not been deciphered. Not ruling out climate change as one of triggers, he said “we are working out the reasons”.

The Met office categorically also trashed speculations that early monsoon could lead to prolonged break periods, which in turn may have negative impact on the agriculture sector. IMD director B.P.Yadav said each monsoon, whether early or late, had break periods.

“Break periods are bad only if they become prolonged. As on date there is no break period in sight. During the next two to three days it will rain well in northwest. On Wednesday there is likely to be a slow down in intensity. But there is a strong system in the Bay of Bengal that will provide support and keep monsoon active over east and central India.”

Monsoon rainfall this year has been good and well-distributed as compared to last year. A good monsoon is good news for not just farmers, who will now be spared of some input costs fuelled by rising diesel prices, but also the ruling UPA government reeling under onslaught of rising inflation. A good monsoon is what the government is keeping its fingers crossed for.

According to Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, good monsoon will strengthen agricultural sector and help control prices of commodities.

New Delhi, June 16
Concerned over shortage of blood in the public health set up in the country, the government is putting in place a structured voluntary blood donation programme to boost supplies.

The current annual shortage of blood in India is estimated at 2.4 million units. The programme seeks to harness every possible opportunity to improve voluntary blood transfusion service in the country.

Highly placed officials in the health ministry admitted that the percentage of voluntary blood donation in India is still low at 59.9 per cent.

“This does not compare well with some of the other countries. We have a target of taking voluntary donation up to 90 per cent, but we need effective policies for that,” sources in the ministry said.

The new programme is based on the understanding that social mobilisation of donors in India is still very poor.

In fact, ministry officials admit that Indian Red Cross Societies have not contributed much to the social mobilisation component of blood donation.

“The Indian Red Cross Societies have 108 blood banks, but within the Red Cross system donor mobilisation is somehow missing,” officials admit, adding that the structured programme seeks to recruit and then retain voluntary blood donors.

But major part of the programme would be collection of safe blood to tide over persisting shortage of the drug (blood is still a drug under the law) in the government set up.

“There is a plan to organize 45,000 voluntary blood donation camps over the coming year. This will be done in layers at district, state and national level. We would encourage consolidation of existing voluntary blood transfusion services under one umbrella. This will ensure maximum impact,” sources in health ministry said.

Each such camp would collect about 50 units of blood enabling the government to bridge the gap between demand and supply of blood by the next year.

Significant also is the government’s recent move to sanction the post of consultant, voluntary blood donation, for each state.

“States have been asked to fill up sanctioned posts so that the programme can roll as soon as possible,” said top health ministry officials

Right now, the sero reactivity (HIV positivity) of blood in India is 0.34 per cent, which is much below the limit of one per cent that WHO advocates for safe blood. In Bangladesh and Nepal, this percentage is more than one.

As for voluntary blood donation in India, it has improved from 20 per cent in 1999 to about 60 per cent now, with the number of blood banks going up from 310 in 1992 to 1093 now, in the public set up alone.

That apart, the scope of improvement in voluntary blood donation percentage is still huge, the ministry believes.

New Delhi, June 16
With less than a year to go for the next Lok Sabha elections, a worried Congress is planning to reach out to some of their disgruntled state leaders to ensure their greater involvement in the selection of candidates and poll preparations.

Although the seven-member panel, headed by defence minister A.K. Antony on re-energising the party organisation, is still working on its report, one of its key suggestions is that the party identifies state leaders who have been feeling marginalised and give them a larger role in next year’s election.

This exercise is expected to begin seriously after the Antony committee submits
its report to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the process of implementation kicks in.

Pointing to some key senior leaders, who need to be mollified, Congress sources cited the case of former five-time Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, also known as the grand old man of Himachal politics.

Although Virbhadra Singh led the Congress to victory in the 2003 Assembly polls, he was not entrusted with the responsibility of heading the legislature party when the Congress lost the state under his leadership.

Although it is acknowledged that Virbhadra Singh is the party’s tallest leader in this hill state, the Congress chose to hand over the legislature party leadership to his bete noire Vidya Stokes.

Realising that the former Chief Minister is feeling miffed, the Congress central leadership is planning to placate him and give him greater responsibility in the party with a clear eye on next year’s general election.

Former Orissa Chief Minister Girdhar Gomnago, who will be remembered for ensuring the defeat of the Vajpayee government with his controversial vote in the Lok Sabha, has also been sidelined for several years now.

The Congress headquarters has belatedly realised that Gomango has been unfairly dealt with, considering his following among the tribals in his home state.

Gomango was always mentioned as a serious contender for a Union Cabinet berth but never managed to make the cut. Congress insiders admit that the cold-shoulder treatment meted out to him has alienated the tribals, a constituency which has always backed the Congress and which the party is trying to hard to retain.

Congress strategists have suggested that state leaders like former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, former Speaker in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Srinivas Tewari and senior leader C.K. Jaffer Sharief must be suitably rehabilitated in the organisation failing which the party could end up paying a heavy price in the next round of elections.

Like Virbadhra Singh, Amarinder Singh was not given any role in the state after the Congress lost to the Akali-BJP combine.

He has since been engaged in a public slugfest with his party rival Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, who has been made the PCC president. The party can ignore Amarinder Singh only at its own peril.

It’s the same story in the case of senior leader Jaffer Sharief, who has a substantial following among the minorities and who has been feeling marginalised since the formation of the UPA government.

New Delhi, June 16
BJP leader L.K. Advani is going to Nagpur on June 19 to release a book titled “Dilli Darbar”, written by Ravindra Dani, the associate editor of Tarun Bharat, the Marathi daily mouthpiece of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Nagpur is the headquarters of the Sangh.

This will be the third direct contact the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate will have with the Sangh leaders in a matter of three months.

The first one was when his book “My Country, My Life” was released here at the Siri Fort Auditorium by former President A.P.J Abdul Kalam on March 19, exactly three months prior to the proposed contact with the Sangh leaders.

RSS general secretary Mohan Bhagwat, believed to be number two after the ageing chief K.S. Sudarshan, was present on the occasion, sending out a message of the Sangh’s support for Advani’s candidature.

After completing the campaigning for the third and last round of the Karnataka Assembly elections on May 19, Advani made a detour via Nagpur and Ahmedabad on his way back to Delhi, making this the second major contact with the Sangh.

BJP sources see in these series of contacts a conscious and deliberate attempt by Advani to renew his old warmth with the Sangh, which had virtually relegated him soon after he called Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, a secularist during his Pakistan visit.

In fact Advani’s autobiographical work, running into 950 pages, was itself a hurried job at reinforcing and reiterating his loyalty to the Sangh and seems to have gone down well with the Sangh.

Though the rapprochement between Advani and the Sangh Parivar seemed to have begun some time before that.

On December 10, on the eve of the second phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections, the BJP declared him its prime ministerial candidate, signifying that the Sangh had buried the hatchet with Advani.

Since then “Advani has been keeping in regular and constant touch with the Sangh leaders individually and collectively on all important occasions,” said a party source.

The two BJP strongmen from Maharashtra, Gopinath Mude and Nitin Gadkari, whose clash of egos led to a major political showdown between them recently, will also come for this Nagpur function.

“This sends a clear message that the Sangh and its outfits stand solidly behind Advani, who is determined to secure a victory in the next general elections,” said BJP sources.

Bangalore, June 16
The Udupi police said today it was not going to investigate further the death of BJP legislator Raghupathi Bhat’s wife, whose body was found hanging from a ceiling fan in a flat in the Dwarka area of Delhi yesterday, terming it a suicide case, even as a news agency quoted the MLA accusing his friend of “coercing” her.

The Delhi Police has also registered a case of suicide. “It is a clear case of suicide”, Devajyoti Ray, SP, Udupi, told the The Tribune over phone today.

He said a missing person case was registered after Padmapriya, wife of BJP legislator Raghupathi Bhat, disappeared from her house on June 10. The case, he said, had come to an end after the police traced her to the Delhi flat yesterday.

“We are now waiting to hear from the Delhi Police about the case and then decide our next course of action”, he said.

Police sources here said Padmapriya, a mother of two children, decided to end her life as she was very unhappy in her family life.

Padmapriya was aided by one Atul, a family friend, in her escapade to Delhi. While Atul helped her hire a flat in Delhi and purchase a car, it was Padmapriya who footed the bill.

“Atul did help Padmapriya in her escapade, but he was not having any affair with her”, police sources said. It added that someone in her family was unfaithful to her and this drove her to commit suicide.

Autopsy on Padmapriya’s body was conducted at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi today and the report was awaited. The MLA husband along with Karnataka home minister V.S. Acharya have also landed in Delhi in the wake of the tragic incident.

Meanwhile, the mystery over the death of Padmapriya deepened today with the legislator accusing his friend “Atul” of “coercing” her, as the state home minister maintained that it was a case of suicide after kidnap.

Delhi: The post-mortem on the body of Padmapriya was conducted at the Safdarjung Hospital here on Monday.

Padmapriya allegedly committed suicide at a flat in Dwarka in south west Delhi yesterday by hanging herself from a ceiling fan.

The body was found in flat A-20, Sector 10, Dwarka, after a Karnataka police team arrived in the city.

The team along with the local police broke into the house when nobody opened the door after repeated knocks.

The police said the television in the flat was playing a Kannada channel. Padmapriya met four persons at her flat yesterday. The identities of the visitors were developed through the visitors’ list.

A guard on duty in the colony where she stayed said two persons, who made entries under the name of Atul, went to the flat with three other unidentified persons. The police said the visitors were being questioned to verify the motive of visits.

Meanwhile, the police has registered a suicide case, though senior officials are not ruling out the possibility of a murder.

New Delhi, June 16
The National Minorities Commission (NCM) is looking into the circumstances that led to the alleged “murder” of Nirmal Singh, a Sikh mechanic living in Capital’s Vishnu Nagar locality.

Nirmal Singh’s family has alleged that he was “murdered” by the police, which came to their house late in the night on June 12 and took Nirmal away on the petty charge of a cheque bounce.

A cheque for Rs 28,000, which Nirmal Singh had earlier presented to one Ashok Khandelwal, had bounced, placing the former on the wrong side of law.

The NCM team led by member Harcharan Singh Josh yesterday visited Nirmal Singh’s house to conduct investigation into the case, which had brought to the fore the issue of minorities’ victimisation.

“We have accepted the complaint forwarded in this regard by Nirmal Singh’s wife Kiran Bala. It is unfortunate that the police insisted on rounding up Nirmal Singh in late hours on June 12 even when his crime was not serious by any standard. He allegedly died in police custody. This is shocking,” Josh said.

Nirmal Singh’s family member have demanded a CBI probe into the death of their only earning member.

The family members alleged that the police team that came to their house on the fateful night was unwilling to accept surety with regard to Nirmal Singh’s appearance in the police station next morning.

“They refused every request for bail, and were bent upon taking him away,” Kiran Bala told The Tribune today.

Josh, who has taken a serious view of the case, said he would raise the issue at the highest possible level, and press for a CBI probe if circumstances demanded.

The commission says it would ensure a fair probe into the unprovoked killing of a member of the Sikh minority.

It has recorded statements of Nirmal’s family members and neighbours, who confirmed that the police beat Nirmal Singh mercilessly when they were taking him away. Kiran Bala, in her complaint to the NCM, alleged that her husband died due to police brutality.

Guwahati, June 16
Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh has called for setting up of an integrated check-post at Moreh, on the India-Myanmar border in Manipur, as it would go a long way in facilitating prompt clearing of export-import consignments and increase the volume of legal trade between the two countries.

Stating that Manipur could be the natural corridor to Southeast Asian nations through Myanmar, Ibobi called for concrete initiatives on part of the government of India to translate the proposed Trans-Asian Highway into a reality soon.

He demanded that bus service between Imphal and Mandalay (in Myanmar) be started without much delay.

Manipur government also wants extension of Jiribam-Tupur railway line to Moreh to boost border trade through the area.

Ibobi said since historically the economy of the north-east was linked to Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan), Myanmar (erstwhile Burma) and the Southeast Asian nations, the government of India should now try to convert the diplomatic initiatives with those nations into commercial opportunities for the north-east region that is connected with the mainland India only through the 30 kilometre wide ‘chicken neck’ area in North Bengal.

Since the signing of Indo-Myanmar Border Trade treaty on January 21, 1994, and operationalisation of the same on April 12, 1995, through Moreh border, trading activities have assumed importance in Manipur.

Northeastern states together share 1,643 km long boundary with Myanmar. Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland share 520 kms, 510 kms, 398 kms and 215 kms long boundary respectively.

Major items entering India through Moreh trade point are blankets, electronic goods, betel nuts, pulses, teak, groundnuts, iron scrap, gold, silver and precious stones. Major items entering Myanmar from India are cotton yarn, cycles, food products, textiles, kerosene, diesel and drugs and pharmaceuticals.

Bangalore, June 16
The Congress and the JD (S) have reached an understanding on supporting each other in the biennial elections to four Rajya Sabha and seven legislative council seats in Karnataka.

As per the understanding, the Congress will contest two Rajya Sabha seats, while JD(S) will contest two legislative council seats and the Congress will contest one.

From the Congress, former Maharashtra Governor and former chief minister of Karnataka S.M. Krishna and mining baron Anil Lad filed their nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha today which was the last date for filing of papers.

Krishna had resigned as the Maharashtra Governor ahead of the Assembly polls in Karnataka and was heading the election management committee of the party in the state.

The veteran leader belongs to the dominant Vokkaliga community in the state. BJP contestants for the Rajya Sabha, Prabhakar Kore and Rama Jois also filed their papers.

With the JDS-Congress joining hands in the elections, all the candidates are expected to be elected unopposed, not necessitating polls on June 26.

They will fill up the seats on expiry of tenures of Vijay Mallya, M.V. Rajshekharan, Janardhan Poojary and Prema Kariappa. Rajasekaran (Congress), a former union minister, filed his papers for the legislative council elections.

The BJP has fielded candidates, including home minister V S Acharya, for four legislative council seats.

Dehra Dun, June 16
Under pressure from the Sangh Parivar on the 'fast unto death' undertaken by Prof G.D. Agarwal, environmentalist, on the issue of stoppage of hydro-electric projects on river Ganga, Chief Minister B.C. Khanduri today threw the ball in the court of the Central government to wriggle out of the situation.

After a Cabinet meeting Khanduri said the state government was willing to stop the hydroelectric projects being undertaken on the River Ganga provided the Union government takes the initiative to stop the 600 MW Lohari Nagpala project, which is being built by the National Thermal Power Corporation.

"We are willing to shelve the 480 MW Pala Maneri and Bhairon Ghati projects provided the Centre stops the Lohari Nagpala and compensates the state for the other two projects," Khanduri said.

Earlier on Sunday, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) at its Marg Darshak Mandal meeting being held at Haridwar decided to extend the invitation to Prof Agarwal.

Concerned at the support extended by the VHP to him, Chief Minister Khanduri himself went to the meeting of the VHP and reiterated his allegiance to the River Ganga and pledged to work for its cleanliness. He told the VHP saints that he would try to do as advised by them.

Meanwhile, Swami Hansdass of VHP and Swami Chidanand Saraswati of Parmarath Ashram today went to Uttarkashi to extend their support to Prof Agarwal.

New Delhi, June 16
Launching an attack against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress today said he was lying that the Centre had meted out step-motherly treatment to his state.

Modi has repeatedly alleged that Gujarat had submitted highest tax revenues to the Centre but the UPA government had not treated Gujarat fairly, adding that his state would henceforth not give any revenue to the Centre.

Responding to his charge, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari declared: “He is lying to the people and the BJP leadership is silent. Such allegations will only lead to the balkanisation of the country.”

Stating that Modi should not take the help of “lies” to further his political career, Tewari quoted official figures to dispute Modi’s allegations He said in 2008-09, maximum Central assistance was given to non-Congress states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa and Gujarat. Tewari quoted a written reply given by the finance ministry in Parliament to project that Gujarat got more Central funds under the UPA rule than under the erstwhile NDA regime.

He said in 2001-02, the Central devolution to Gujarat was to the tune of Rs 2,983 crore while in 2002-03, the amount went up to Rs 4,351 crore and stood at Rs 3,795 crore in 2003-04. Tewari said under the UPA rule, the amount increased substantially. While it was Rs 4,418 crore in 2004-05, it went up to Rs 6,016 crore in 2005-06, increasing further to Rs 7,589 crore in 2006-07 and then to Rs 9,003 crore in 2007-08.

Continuing his tirade against the Congress, Modi dared the Centre to remove Gujarat from the list of centrally assisted states, saying: “I invite the Congress regime. Please do not waste a single day. Book me for sedition today and hang me. Let me see how they can? But how can they? They have not been able to hang Afzal Guru.”

Tewari’s response to Modi was: “If Narendra Modi wants to equate himself with Mohd Afzal, then Congress has nothing to say.” He added that in national interest, whatever steps were required, they would be at an appropriate time.

Jaipur, June 16
Voicing optimism, Gujjar leader Col Kirori Singh Bainsla (retd) today went into the crucial talks with the Rajasthan government in a bid to end the 25-day-old agitation for ST status.

“I have come to Jaipur with an open mind. I am optimistic about the outcome of the talks,” he told reporters at the gate of Officers' Training Station (OTS) building, the venue of the parleys.

Seventy-year-old Bainsla was flown to the state capital from his camp in the Bharatpur’s Karwadi area earlier in the day by a state government helicopter.

He is leading a 30-member delegation of his outfit, Gurjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti, to the talks. The delegation includes samiti deputy Capt Hari Prasad (retd).

The Rajasthan government team, led by BJP MP and party treasurer Ramdas Agarwal, includes four state ministers - L.N. Dave, S.M. Jat, Nathu Singh Gujjar and Kalu Lal Gujjar.

Shortly after reaching here, Colonel Bainsla chaired a meeting of his outfit's representatives who have been holding parleys with the state authorities.

Welcoming the proposals put forward by the government to resolve the issue, Colonel Bainsla had said last night that he would go to Jaipur to hold further talks.

“I'm happy. I will go to Jaipur and a result will come out. We are prima facie happy with the proposals of the Rajasthan government,” the Gujjar leader had said in Karwadi, the agitation hotbed.

The state government's proposals were contained in a letter which was brought to Colonel Bainsla by a team of Gujjar leaders from Jaipur to Karwadi. — PTI

New Delhi, June 16
Citing China's rapid militarisation of space, Army chief Deepak Kapoor today raised pitch for establishing the much-delayed tri-services space command for persistent surveillance and quick response to any threat to India's assets in the orbit.

General Kapoor’s remarks came in the wake of India's defence establishment, shaken up after China demonstrated its capabilities to shoot down satellites in January last year, initiating counter measures to ward off anti-satellite (ASAT) threats.

Only last fortnight, defence minister A.K. Antony had announced the setting up of an integrated space cell at the integrated defence staff headquarters to act as a single window for military use and security of space resources, apart from performing the role of interface among the Army, Navy and Air Force, besides the Department of Space and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

“Chinese space programme is expanding at an exponentially rapid pace in both offensive and defensive content. There is an imperative requirement to develop joint structures in the Indian armed forces for synergising employment of space assets,” General Kapoor said, inaugurating a day-long training for Army officers on “space applications for military use” here.

“There is an attempt to try and militarise space. There are also agreements that space militarisation should be restricted,” General Kapoor told reporters on the sidelines of the seminar organised by the Army Headquarters' Perspective Planning Directorate and the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS).

Stating that the Indian Army recognised space as an emerging arena for important military applications, he told the seminar that space was being increasingly identified as “the ultimate military high ground” for battle space dominance.

He said space-based applications such as surveillance, intelligence, communications, navigation and precision guidance played a dominant role in recent conflicts.

However, the military usage of space in the Indian context was at a comparatively nascent stage, he pointed out.

“The Indian Army, which has a large user base, needs to expand its knowledge base about space applications and optimise space-based capabilities to the maximum,” he stressed. — PTI

Chandigarh, June 16
The Army is reported to be holding a large quantity of “defective” air defence ammunition, which is posing a risk to the safety of troops and could also lead to monetary loss.

Three soldiers had been injured in firing tests being conducted to validate the warranty of the ammunition received, which had been imported in six consignments at a total cost of Rs 166 crore.

Investigations carried out by the Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) attributed the defects to metallurgical and manufacturing process discrepancy.

Army headquarters had declared the ammunition unusable and all holding depots and units were directed to raise a loss statement and dispose-off the lot.

The Army had bought 1.1 lakh rounds of air defence ammunition and the quality and inspection clause in the contract provided that if the stores did not meet the qualitative criteria, the vendor would replace the entire lot at his expense.

The DGQA had rejected the entire first lot of 10,000 rounds and 50 per cent of the third lot of 20,000 rounds, as these were found defective. All defects noticed during proof checks were critical in nature.

Meetings were held with the vendor and later re-inspection was also carried out. Instead of full replacement of the lot as mandated under the contract, the Army authorities and the DGQA agreed to the vendor’s proposal to replace only a “small number” of rounds identified as defective.

Terming the deviation from contract conditions as “irregular”, the Comptroller and auditor General in his latest report, has revealed that defective ammunition pertaining to the third consignment was still held by the Army posing risks.

Besides, close to 9,000 rounds of the first lot, valued at about Rs 14 crore were declared as a loss.

The matter was raised by the CAG with the ministry of defence, but the ministry is yet to respond to the issue.

Lucknow, June 16
The first spell of rains here have led to the death of six persons and injured many in different rain-related mishaps.

A tree fell on a moving car near Chanda in Sultanpur district, on the Lucknow-Varanasi national highway, killing Vidya Singh (50), wife of K.P. Singh of Narendrapur village. Her granddaughter Khushi (6) was also killed in the accident.

Her daughter-in-law Urmila (30), grandson Chitranch and son Divyanch (16) were critically injured.

In another incident, Sher Bahadur Yadav, a resident of Devra village in Faizabad district, died after being struck by lightning.

An 11-year girl Chandni, daughter of Mohammad Nayeem of Usmanpur village in Barabanki, was buried alive under the debris of her house that collapsed due to incessant rain.

In yet another mishap, a youth from Unnao district died of electric shock when a live wire fell on the wet roof of his house.

The sixth death was reported from Bareilly district where a boy drowned after falling into Ramganga River.

Meanwhile, Varanasi recorded maximum rainfall of 130.8 mm, Lucknow witnessed 28.8 mm, Allahabad 39.2 mm while Kanpur received 54 mm of rainfall.

BRIEFLY

Drunk students hit pedestrians, 10 hurt
Mumbai: Two students have been arrested for drunken driving and allegedly injuring 10 persons in suburban Malad area, the police said on Monday. The accident occurred last night when a Maruti car carrying five students hit three auto rickshaws and then rammed into people on the roadside, the police said. All students were reportedly drunk, they said. Two of them have been arrested while the other three are absconding. The injured have been admitted to Bhagavati hospital, police added. — PTI

Two arrested for Thane auditorium blast
MUMBAI: Two persons have been arrested in connection with the Thane auditorium blast, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) said on Sunday. The duos were picked up late in the night and are suspected to be a part of the right wing organisation. Seven people were injured in a minor explosion that took place on June 4 at the Gadkari Rangayatan auditorium's parking lot, before the staging of the play 'Amhi Pachpute'. Some Hindu organisations had also protested against the play, alleging misrepresentation of mythological characters. — PTI

Newspapers fail to hit stands in Manipur
IMPHAL: No dailies hit the stands on Monday in Manipur as media houses decided not to bring out Monday’s issue in protest against the threats from militants, sources in the media houses said. Sources said while militants of a particular outfit wanted the publication of a statement issued by them, others of the same group threatened dailies with dire consequences if the said statement was published. The All Manipur Working Journalists' Union (AMWJU) appealed to the militants not to interrupt the functioning of the dailies. — PTI

Woman back on feet after rare surgery
KAKINADA: A private hospital here gave a fresh lease of life to a patient, who had been bedridden for the last six months, after performing a rare surgery on her spinal cord. Bonthu Lakshmi (55) lost the use of both her legs due to a tumour in the spinal cord. The 10.3 x19.4 mm tumour is considered rarest among the rare as it occurs only in one out of one lakh people. The success rate of surgery is around ten per cent. But in her case, it was nearly cent per cent success, claimed Dr Kondamuri Satyanarayana. — UNI

BJP minister in trouble for claiming to be a graduate
BHUBANESHWAR: Orissa's commerce and transport minister Jayanarayan Mishra of the BJP has landed in trouble after he was allegedly found lying about his educational qualification in the affidavit he made during the 2004 assembly elections, official sources said on Sunday. Mishra in his affidavit made before the electoral officer mentioned that he had passed Bachelor in Arts (BA) degree in 1984 from Sambalpur University. However, after an inquiry it was found that no one in the name of Jayanarayan Mishra had even appeared the graduation examination under the unversity in that year. — PTI