The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	20 killed as rains batter Andhra Suresh Dharur/TNS Hyderabad, October 25 Heavy rains continued to batter several parts of Andhra Pradesh for the third consecutive day today, leaving at least 20 persons dead, causing extensive damage to standing crops and inundating hundreds of villages in coastal districts. Over 68,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas in several towns and villages to 135 relief camps set up in seven districts. The deaths were reported from different districts covering all three regions of the state--coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telangana. The standing crops spread over 4.35 lakh hectares, including 2 lakh hectares of cotton across the state, suffered damage due to rains, officials said. The focus may now shift from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema to the Telangana region with the weatherman forecasting very heavy rains over the next 24 hours. Officials said over 3,500 houses were damaged in the rains in Srikakulam, Guntur, Krishna, Prakasam, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Vizianagaram, East Godavari and West Godavari districts. The torrential rains have thrown the normal life out of gear, disrupting the communications and transport services. The South Central Railway (SCR) has cancelled several trains following flooding of the tracks. As many as 117 irrigation tanks in the state were damaged, most of them in the north coastal Andhra district of Srikakulam where Vamsadhara river is in spate. The traffic movement on the Andhra-Odisha Highway has virtually come to a halt following flooding of roads. The situation was similar in several districts of coastal Andhra and Telangana with road links being cut off following flooding of roads. Floods wreak havoc in Odisha too; 10 dead Fresh floods triggered by low pressure induced rains devastated cyclone-hit Ganjam and other coastal districts of Odisha, leaving 10 persons dead, five missing and lakhs marooned as helicopters launched rescue operations on Friday. Of the ten deaths, six, including four members of a family were killed in wall collapse in Jagatsinghpur district and four others were swept away in floods in Ganjam district, Special Relief Commissioner, PK Mohapatra said adding two others died due to wall collapse in Ganjam. — PTI
	PPCC meeting venue shifted to Delhi Sarbjit Dhaliwal/TNS Chandigarh, October 25 A meeting convened by Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Partap Singh Bajwa, to decide on issues to be raised forcefully during the forthcoming assembly session and to decide the venue for a party convention on food security, has been cancelled. The meeting was to be held at the PPCC office here on Saturday. Bajwa had invited Congress Legislature Party (CLP) Leader Sunil Jakhar, Capt Amarinder Singh, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Lal Singh and three MLAs in charge of Majha, Malwa and Doaba zones to the meeting. However, the meeting will now be held in Delhi. When contacted, Bajwa said: "Only the venue of the meeting has been shifted to Delhi as party general secretary Shakeel Ahmed and Harish Chaudhary, who were to attend the meeting here, expressed their inability to do so." However, Bajwa's detractors say that the party high command has yet again snubbed the PPCC president by changing the venue to Delhi, just a day before the meeting. They maintain that convening a meeting of party MLAs to discuss issues to be taken up in the Vidhan Sabha is the prerogative of the CLP Leader. However, Bajwa has the right to attend the meeting. Bajwa's critics allege that it is his overbearing demeanour that is leading to needless controversies.
	Manmohan, Modi to share dais Ahmedabad, October 25 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will share the dais at the inauguration of a museum dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on October 29. The museum has been built by the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Memorial Society. Union Minister Dinsha Patel, who is the chairman of the society, met Narendra Modi and invited him to the function. The invitation card of the function says that the PM will be the chief guest and the Gujarat Chief Minister the special guest. Two days later, on October 31, Modi would lay the foundation stone of a gigantic statue of the first Home Minister of the country near Sardar Sarovar Dam.— PTI
	Corporate rivalry behind Radia tapes leak, Tata tells SC New Delhi, October 25 Former Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata today told the Supreme Court that the tapped telephonic conversations between corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and top politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen, including himself, were leaked to the media because of corporate rivalry. "This order for tapping was passed because of extraneous reasons. If corporate battle had not happened, this would not have come out in public," senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Tata, said adding "I do not have any doubt that the original leak happened because of corporate rivalry". Salve told an apex court Bench that Tata Telecommunication itself gets around 10,000 to 15,100 requests from the government every year for interception of calls and questioned the Centre for not finding out who leaked the tapped conversation. "Tata Telecom itself gets around 10 to 15 thousand requests per year for interception of call. The total number of such requests must be around 60-70 thousand per year for all telecom companies," Salve told the Bench headed by Justice GS Singhvi. The Bench, also comprising justice V Gopala Gowda, said that "in the instant case, recording was done at the instance of the income tax department and at the same time by some service provider at the risk of losing the licence". — PTI
	Afghan onion import fails to wipe tears Perneet Singh/TNS Amritsar, October 25 Though onion imports from Afghanistan via Attari border had started in early September, it seems there hasn't been much impact of these imports on onion prices in the domestic market. According to sources at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) in Attari, around 10,000 tonnes of onions have been imported from Afghanistan till date, though the stock isn't arriving every day nowadays. For instance, 12 truckloads of onions had arrived from Afghanistan yesterday, but none came today. Talking to The Tribune, leading importer Rajdeep Uppal said the import of Afghan onion did have an impact on the domestic market prior to Eid when onion prices had come down to Rs 60 per kg in retail market. He said the current onion price rise to the level of Rs 80 per kg is primarily due to two reasons: Firstly, import of Afghan onions had come to a halt for around 10 days recently owing to some truck and labour problem; secondly, there was a gap between the old onion crop drying up and the arrival of the new crop. He expressed hope that the prices will again come down by Monday or Tuesday. CII National Council on Public Policy member Gunbir Singh said the Afghan onions didn't have the desired impact on the domestic market as the demand is far more than the supply. Besides, he felt there has been hoarding and profiteering across the country. The onion import had started from Afghanistan on September 5 and a record number of 55 trucks loaded with Afghan onion had arrived via Attari border on September 26.
	Onion prices to come down in next 10 days: Thomas Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 25 Food Minister KV Thomas today said onion prices would come down in the next 10 days with the fresh arrival of domestic and imported stock. Onion prices have hovered between Rs 70 and 90 per kg in most parts of the country and at some places even touched the Rs-100 per kg mark, as per reports. Thomas said the decision on onion import tender floated by the cooperative Nafed would be taken on October 29 following which shipments would arrive after 3-4 days. “Onion prices will come down in next 10 days. Traders should take legitimate margin and not loot consumers. Farmers should get reasonable price and consumers should also get onions at affordable rates,” he said. The state governments have been asked to take strong action against hoarders and few states have already taken action, he said, adding that “We need not be alarmed about the situation”. Thomas said he had discussed the supply situation with Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Karnataka governments. “Our analysis is that production is as good, even better than last year but the prices have remained higher,” he said. The Warehousing Development Regulatory Authority (WDRA) has been asked to explore possibility of storing onion grown in the rabi (winter crop) season to avert any such crisis next year. “Nafed is prepared to procure onions during the plenty and supply to states during lean season. Unfortunately that has not worked. Nafed has very good cold storage facilities,” he said.
	Indo-Russian joint exercise ends Raj Sadosh Abohar, October 25 The Indian Army today added another feather to its cap with the successful completion of Exercise Indra 2013 involving Russian and Indian forces. It is a landmark event as battalion-level exercises involving Russian and Indian mechanised forces have been held in India for the first time. In Exercise Gangneva (name derived from rivers Ganga in India and Neva in Russia) at the Mahajan Field Firing Range in Rajasthan today, Indian and Russian mechanised troops captured a notional rebel strong point with an impressive assault of attack helicopters, tanks and infantry fighting vehicles called BMPs. Small teams of Indian special forces were inserted using helicopters near the objective for intelligence-based precision operations. The joint exercise was witnessed by senior officers of both the armies. General Officer Commanding Chetak Corps Navkiran Singh also attended the operation. Exercise Vindhural (name derived from the Vindhya mountains of India and the Ural mountains in Russia) encompassed search-and-destroy operations. A mock village was constructed in which a heavy concentration of rebels was depicted. Troops of both the armies cordoned off the village and then, conducted search operations. Using helicopters, personnel of the Indian special forces made attempts to nab a notional rebel leader. Casualty evacuation drills using helicopters were also conducted. Earlier, a function was organised for the visiting army in which Indian Army troops presented martial dances of India. The performances of ‘lazium’, ‘malkhamb’, ‘jhanj pataka’ dance of Maharashtra and ‘gatka’ of Punjab left the Russians spellbound. After the drill, a senior officer said that a greater level of understanding has been achieved in matters of resource utilisation and nuances of tactical-level procedures. Indian Army’s vast experience in counter-insurgency operations and management of conflict-ridden areas has been acknowledged the world over. Friendly foreign countries are making a beeline for joint training with the Indian Army, he said.
	Long battle ahead for doc who lost wife to medical negligence Aditi Tandon/TNS New Delhi, October 25 For Kunal Saha, the US-based physician who lost his wife to medical negligence in 1998, yesterday marked the end of a long struggle for justice. The Supreme Court ordered Calcutta’s AMRI hospital to compensate him with Rs 6.04 crore for causing his wife Anuradha’s wrongful death. “It has been a very lonely pursuit for me. Though the Supreme Court has awarded me the highest-ever compensation for medical negligence in India, I must say I was not in it for money. I was seeking a signal which must be sent out to all the Indian doctors not to take people’s lives casually,” Kunal Saha told The Tribune over phone from the US a day after his case made headlines. Back home, Saha has set his eyes on the next task which stems from his genuine concern -- the decision of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to appoint as her Health Adviser the doctor whom the apex court has held guilty for Anuradha Saha's wrongful death. Sukumar Banerjee, Mamata’s adviser, was the first doctor in India to see Anuradha in May 1998 and prescribe her unacceptably high doses of steroids for a simple skin rash. The Supreme Court confirmed Banerjee's negligence saying he failed to diagnose the victim’s condition - a rare skin disease called toxic epidermal necrolysis -- and administered her steroids that caused immuno-suppression leading to sepsis and death. “I can’t fathom how a doctor guilty of wrongful death on account of medical negligence can advise any government on health? My mission in India is only beginning,” Saha said. He had challenged Mamata’s decision to appoint Banerjee as her adviser in the Calcutta High Court. When the high court declined his request to make the Chief Minister a respondent, he appealed against the move in the Supreme Court which has issued notices to the state. The case is to come up shortly. Another battle Saha is waging in India is on state medical councils which have failed to regulate medical standards and oversee negligent doctors. This December, a Kolkata court will begin unprecedented day-to-day hearings against 17 doctor members of the previous West Bengal Medical Council who had conspired to protect the medics who caused Anuradha's death 15 years ago. “I will visit Kolkata to depose in this trial ordered by the eighth Metropolitan Magistrate of Bankshall Court. I am not here to punish doctors. My aim is to cleanse the rot in India's health sector. Some Anuradha is dying even as we speak,” said Kunal who helps victims of medical negligence through an organisation called People for Better Treatment which he set up in Kolkata in his wife's memory.