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French Railways to fund bullet train study
Rural Development Ministry comes to Railways’ aid
11 children being abused daily in India
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PAU, director agriculture differ over yellow rust attack on wheat after wet spell
BJP announces 105-member team for Uttar Pradesh
Maharashtra ATS scours suspected hideouts
Meghalaya voters defy ban; Nagaland sees brisk polling
75% polling for 3 Bengal seats
Another K’taka BJP MLA quits
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French Railways to fund bullet train study
New Delhi, February 23 During the visit of the French President on February 14-15, an MoU was signed between the Indian Railways and the French National Railways (SNFC) to carry out feasibility studies on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project. The study costing Rs 4 crore will be funded by the SNFC and officials call it a step forward from the pre-feasibility studies on six possible tracks where the ambitious project had remained stagnant in the past couple of years. The problem is the paucity of funds. Though the pre-feasibility study was done on the entire 650-km-long Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad section, the government decided to reduce it to the Mumbai - Ahmedabad stretch due to the high cost involved. Officials explain that funds required to set the project going are huge, more than Rs 50,000 crore. The fund-starved Indian Railways has better uses for its money like providing for safety and security, better amenities and facilities to passengers than spending on a high-end project like a bullet train. But it is hoping for support from potential investors for a public-private partnership, perhaps a joint venture or even soft loan from the World Bank or the IMF, to set India’s dream project floating. Speculations are rife that Railways Minister Pawan Bansal may make some announcement on the bullet train project in his maiden Rail Budget speech on February 26. Last year, the ministry had formed a company called High Speed Rail Corporation of India (HSRC) to run the dream project that will reduce the travel time between the two financial hubs - Mumbai and Ahmedabad - from the current eight hours to about two hours. The government is also hoping for support from interested parties. Japan is among the few countries vying for the HSR corridors project - a part of Indian Railways Vision 2020. Along with Japan, French and German consortia are also in the race to sell these train-sets. Bullet trains are capable of clocking a speed of 325-350 kmph.
Green train
Apart from inducting high-speed electric multiple unit (EMU) trains, the Budget may also include green trains to help out with high fuel costs required to run its massive fleet of diesel locomotives. Officials said that the pilot plan to retrofit diesel locomotives with liquefied natural gas to cut fuel cost by almost 40 per cent is likely to be part of the Rail Budget.
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Rural Development Ministry comes to Railways’ aid
New Delhi, February 23 Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has given a green signal for “suitable” railway works like developing waterways and pathways, construction of pathways and ‘kuccha’ approach roads and afforestation under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. The announcement is expected to be made by Railway Minister Pawan Bansal in his Railway Budget speech on February 26. Responding to Bansal’s proposal, Ramesh has said that engineers of the Indian Railways could also later also assist gram panchayats in developing estimates and training workers while ensuring the quality of work. Works under MGNREGS are planned by gram sabhas and a bulk of these are implemented by gram panchayats in accordance with the provisions of the Act. Therefore, arrangements would have to be put in place to identify suitable works and passing these on to gram panchayats, the Rural Development Minister said. Facing paucity of funds and cost-escalation issues, Indian Railways, by tying up with NREGA, can take care of projects that have been announced merely on social considerations. Projects worth Rs 1,47,187 crore are pending which include works like building of new lines, gauge conversion and doubling. It was during the tenure of Mamata Banerjee that the Planning Commission and the Railway Ministry first floated the idea of funding projects through NREGA. Bansal, perhaps taking a cue from that, recently wrote to the Rural Development Minister asking him to put railway projects in far-off and rural areas under the rural job guarantee scheme. “A number of railway projects, including regular maintenance, require unskilled labour. Most of such works are connected with earthwork, construction and maintenance of embankments, cuttings, trenching, filling, developing water ways and clearing vegetation,” Bansal had said in his letter to Ramesh. Even though the fund-crunched ministry is expecting a better general budget support (GBS) from the Finance Ministry and may land up with around Rs 32,000-33,000 crore GBS for the 2013-14 fiscal to ease pressure from increased diesel price and cost of pending projects, it will fall way short of its actual requirements.
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11 children being abused daily in India
New Delhi, February 23 India has been witnessing an epidemic of child abuse with the cases skyrocketing in the recent past. Between 2009 and now, instances of child abuse have more than doubled with convictions in such cases remaining abysmally low. The child abuse register maintained by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) provides an insight into the growing crimes against children. This year until February 15, as many as 509 cases have been received by the commission for action from all over the country. This means that 11 children have been abused every day in India since the start of the year. “The cases are rising like never before and sexual assault is a major component of the crime. We have been seeing an increasing number of complaints in the commission. Children are facing all sorts of crimes from sodomy and rapes to trafficking, foeticide and substance abuse. We are doing our best to investigate and ensure justice,” NCPCR member VK Tikoo said. In 2009-2010, the commission had received 234 cases which rose to 277 in 2010-11, 371 in 2011-12 and finally to 509 until February 15 this year. The data for the current year exhibits a shocking rise in child abuse cases. “In the past, we would see around 200 cases of abuse against children annually. Today, we are seeking 509 cases in just 46 days. It indicates a growing tolerance for crimes against children. “Trafficking of children for prostitution, slavery and organ trade are newer forms of crimes which the Justice JS Verma Committee accorded due importance when it recommended to the government to make trafficking a punishable offence under the IPC,” Rakesh Senger of Bachpan Bachao Andolan said. The government has now agreed to make trafficking an IPC offence prescribing a punishment even for employers of trafficked children in the Ordinance on anti-rape which will soon be introduced in Parliament. But child rights activists feel the implementation of the law leaves much to be desired.
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Intel agencies probe Saudi link
New Delhi, February 23 Evidence has pointed out that the Hyderabad blasts on February 21 were planned much before the execution of Afzal Guru, convicted in the December-2001 Parliament attack case. Kagzi, who has been associated with Abu Jundal, the man deported by Saudi Arabia in June 2012 for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, has been found to be guiding the attackers, both in Pune blasts (August 2012) and now in Hyderabad, sources say. He has a contact man, Raju Bhai, probably an alias, in India. Sources say there is ample evidence to suggest that Raju Bhai and Kagzi are in constant touch. Kagzi instructs him to further “guide” the youth. Raju Bhai and Kagzi have been working to reinvent the Indian Mujahideen in the past two years. Raju Bhai’s name has cropped up in 2012 when a ‘Darbhanga module’ of the IM was busted by the Delhi Police. Kagzi has so far escaped detention at the hands of the Saudis as he got alerted by excessive media coverage of the Abu Jundal case. Jundal and another youth, Fasih Mehmood, were extradited to India in 2012. Jundal has provided information about his associate Fayaz Kagzi, saying he was closely involved in mentoring the Indian Mujahideen module in India led by Yasin Bhatkal, who is said to be based in Pakistan. Jundal told his interrogators that Kagzi controlled the Indian Mujahideen outfit, which carried out blasts across the country. Jundal, who was one of the persons directing the 26/11 attacks from a control room in Karachi, has also confessed to meeting Kagzi in Saudi Arabia. In the past the needle of suspicion has pointed to Kagzi and even his contacts in India, but he remains elusive. Investigations now suggest that the Hyderabad blasts were connected with Afzal Guru’s execution. It was clear that the Hyderabad blast site was surveyed much earlier - maybe even in August/September 2012. The Maharashtra Police had issued an advertisement on February 12 seeking information on Pune blast suspects. It reportedly received some leads but these could not be coordinated with Andhra
Pradesh.
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PAU, director agriculture differ over yellow rust attack on wheat after wet spell
Chandigarh, February 23 The PAU said, “Frequent spells of rain and cloudy weather are highly conducive for the further development of yellow rust on wheat. Already, yellow rust is well spread in sub-mountainous areas such as Nawanshahr, Ropar, Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur districts besides reports of such attacks from Fatehgarh Sahib, Patiala, Ferozepur and Ludhiana districts”. Besides Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana make a major contribution of wheat to the Central pool. The PAU has advised farmers to keep monitoring their fields on a regular basis to detect any symptoms of yellow rust and to spray recommended fungicides on the crop in case there are any indications. The PAU has stated that the spray of fungicides would not only help check yellow rust but also act as a preventive measure against the attack of Karnal bunt on wheat. As similar conditions prevail in various parts of neighbouring Haryana, the possibility of attacks of yellow rust and Karnal bunt cannot be ruled out. Reports of moderate rainfall during the past 36 hours have come from Ambala (18.8 mm), Bhiwani (4.6 mm), Karnal (10 mm), Narnaul (5 mm), Amritsar (25.6 mm), Patiala (17 mm), Ludhiana (15.6 mm) and other districts of the region. But Sandhu said that the current spell of rain was very useful for the wheat crop. However, water from the wheat crop in low-lying areas should be drained out. Disagreeing with the PAU alert regarding further spread of yellow rust, Sandhu said as the rain was not accompanied by fast-flowing winds, there was no reason for the further spread of the attack. He said, “I am of the view that no fungal disease can expand its attack when it is raining. It was only possible if fast winds start blowing immediately after the rain.” He said that attack of yellow rust had been witnessed in the fields where un-recommended varieties of wheat were sown in the Kandi belt. “In fact, I would say that the rain has washed away the attack of certain pests and would prove good for the crop,” he said.
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BJP announces 105-member team for Uttar Pradesh
Lucknow, February 23 After months of deliberations, state BJP president Laxmikant Bajpayi today announced a 105-member team, including eight vice-presidents, four general secretaries, 10 secretaries, one treasurer and 78 members. Heads of four frontal organisations were also announced today. There are 41 women and 34 OBC members in the new team. Bajpayi said he took a long time to finalise the team members as he had to maintain a balance between region, caste, class and experience of the members. He said the focus was to include young faces in the team, with 44 years being the average age of the members. Defending the decision to include sons of three senior politicians despite the party being a vocal opponent of dynastic politics, the state president said it was wrong to penalise able workers of the party. “If a person has shown enough drive and hard work to build the party, they should be allowed to grow as leaders on their own rather than punishing them,” he said.
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Maharashtra ATS scours suspected hideouts
Mumbai, February 23 They include those questioned for terror links in the past, say sources. The police, however, says they were only carrying out routine investigations. “We are only talking to our sources and asking routine queries,” says a senior police officer from the Bandra police station where several youths were called for questioning this morning. The renewed activity in the city comes a day after allegations that the intelligence agencies may have failed in pre-empting the bomb blast since it was expected following the executions of Mumbai terror attacker Ajmal Kasab and Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. Sources say several members of banned organisations like the Students Islamic Movement of India and the Indian Mujahideen in various jails are being questioned. A team of officers from the state is camping in Hyderabad to coordinate with their counterparts in Andhra
Pradesh.
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Meghalaya voters defy ban; Nagaland sees brisk polling
Shillong/Kohima, Feb 23 Over half of the voters had cast their ballots till afternoon for the Meghalaya and Nagaland Assembly elections, with both states witnessing long queues outside polling stations. Polling was postponed in one assembly constituency in Nagaland following a candidate's death. Voting was peaceful in both the states. In Meghalaya, more than half of the electorate had exercised their franchise for the 60-member Assembly, though it was yet to pick up in the West Garo Hills region, said an official. The Border Security Force has stepped up patrolling along the India-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya following the shutdown called by the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC). The HNLC, which runs hit-and-run operations from its hideout in Bangladesh, has been demanding a sovereign Khasi homeland in eastern Meghalaya. Over 1.5 million voters -- about half the population of Meghalaya -- are eligible to decide the fate of 345 candidates, including 25 women and 122 independents. Polling began at 7 a.m. and would be held till 4 p.m. Voting is taking place at 2,485 polling booths, out of which 842 have been termed hyper-sensitive. In the state, the Congress has fielded candidates in all constituencies followed by the United Democratic Party (UDP) in 50 seats. The Purno Sangma-led Nationalist People's Party has 32 candidates while the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will contest in 21 seats. The Hill State People's Democratic Party has fielded 17 candidates. The polls are being held in newly-formed constituencies where 16 outgoing legislators are pitted against one another. Nagaland too witnessed half of its electorate voting by early afternoon to pick a 60-member assembly. The polling for the Tuensang Sadar I Assembly constituency in Nagaland was postponed after the death of Congress candidate and sitting MLA P. Chuba Chang at a hospital in Kohima Friday. Chang, 49, was ailing and died at a hospital in Kohima Friday. Nagaland Joint Chief Electoral Officer N Moa Aier said Saturday that they have written to the Election Commission of India, which is likely to announce a fresh date for holding the polls in the constituency. — PTI
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75% polling for 3 Bengal seats
Kolkata, February 23 Around 75 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the byelection. The results will be declared on February 28. The byelection was necessitated by the resignation of three Congress MLAs from their respective seats. President Pranab Mukherjee’s son Abhijit resigned from the Nalhati Assembly seat to contest his father’s Jangipur Lok Sabha seat, which he later won. The two other MLAs, Humuyun Kabir (Rejinagar) and Krishhendu Adhikery (Englishbazar), joined the Trinamool Congress and were later inducted into the Mamata Banerjee’s Cabinet.
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Another K’taka BJP MLA quits
Bangalore, February 23 The resignation of Gowda, who is now expected to join the Janata Dal (secular), comes close on the heels of Forest Minister CP Yogeeshwar and Small Scale Industries Minister Rajugouda quitting the Jagadish Shettar Cabinet. TNS
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New Delhi The BJP warned the government against going ahead with the Sethusamudram project, saying it won’t tolerate tampering with the Ram Setu. — PTI India Gate lawns closed after terror threat The Delhi Police restricted access to the India Gate lawns following terror threat on Saturday. Additional Commission of Police (New Delhi District) Sanjay Tyagi said the lawns were closed to general public as the police had received intelligence inputs of a possible terror strike by way of planting of explosives in the lawns. The national monument is visited by a large number of people everyday. — TNS
Chennai The run-up to the Monday evening launch of an Indian rocket that will sling into orbit the world's first smartphone-operated nano satellite, a space telescope satellite and five other satellites, including an Indo-French satellite, is smooth, an official of the Indian space agency said. — IANS
Patna Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir on Saturday expressed concern over the growing practice of "media trial" as he said it could create prejudice against the accused. "The issue should be left to the courts to decide," he said during a conference on criminal justice here. PTI Kochi A new Bench has been constituted by the Kerala High Court to hear the Suriyanelli gang-rape case. The Bench, comprising Justices KT Shankaran and ML Joseph Francis, will hear the bail pleas of some of the accused on Monday. PTI Kannur A Malayalam television actress was arrested on Saturday for allegedly trying to persuade a woman into flesh trade by promising her roles in serials. Greeshma (32) of Mambram in Kannur district was arrested from the railway station here. PTI Chikmagalur Five police personnel, including two women, of the Aldur police station were on Saturday suspended following allegations by a woman that three of them had raped her while she was in their custody. PTI
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While the possibility of a bullet train hitting Indian tracks may still be some years away, an offshoot of French President Francois Hollande recent visit to India has been that movement has again started on India’s long-pending ambitious project - a real high-speed train that will most likely first run on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad section.
Meghalaya's electorate Saturday defied a shutdown call to enthusiastically turn up in large numbers at polling booths in the Assembly elections while Nagaland too saw brisk
ballotting. Over half of the voters had cast their ballots till afternoon for the Meghalaya and Nagaland Assembly elections, with both states witnessing long queues outside polling stations.
