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Himachal tragedy: Hunt on for missing persons

MANDI: Rescuers today made little headway in tracing 19 students of a Hyderabad-based engineering college and a tour guide who were washed away due to sudden discharge of water from the reservoir of Larji Hydropower Project.

Bodies of five students including three girls and a boy were recovered yesterday by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams.


A team comprising 84 NDRF men and 10 divers carried out a search operation in turbulent Beas River from the accident spot Thalaut and Pandoh Dam, Jaideep Singh, Commanding Officer, NDRF said.


A dozen boats, local divers and rafters also assisted the NDRF teams in the rescue operations.


The volume of water in Pandoh Dam was very high but the flood gates cannot be opened as there is a threat of the bodies being washed away, officials said.


Devesh Kumar, District Magistrate, Mandi said, "A system of protocol is already available to the dam authorities but I am sure that some deficiencies must be there... I would say that adequate number of signboards are a necessity on the stretches" where the accident took place.


Telangana Home Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy said the families feel that the search should be carried out "deep".


"Families argue that the search should be carried out deep. Collector and the administration people say it is not easy to carry deep search," Reddy said.


"Dam water was released without caution or siren.


Children got into the river when the water was less. The water increased suddenly and washed them away," he said.


About 60 students and faculty members of the V.N.R.


Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology in Hyderabad were on an excursion to Manali and 25 persons were washed away in flash floods following sudden release of water from reservoir of Larji hydropower project near Thalot on Sunday evening.


Himachal government has announced an immediate relief of Rs 1.50 lakh to the next of kin of the engineering college students washed away.


"We have announced a compensation of Rs 1.50 lakh to next of kin of each victim and also made arrangement for sending the bodies of the victims and also provide all possible help to the affected families", Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh told reporters. 
The Chief Minister said that an inquiry by Divisional Commissioner, Mandi has already been ordered into the accident and all vulnerable points along river banks where power projects have constructed dams would be "fenced". Sign boards with warning signals would also be displayed at these places.


The alarm systems would be made more effective and the people would be informed about the alarms so that they take necessary precautions and avoid taking risk, he added.


All the survivors and five bodies recovered by rescue teams were flown to Hyderabad by an Air India flight last night while families of some missing students who had flown to Kullu with Union Civil Aviation Minister Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju have stayed back and are hoping for recovery of more bodies.


In Hyderabad, bodies of four students were brought by a special Army aircraft.


The 24 students of the VNR Vijyana Jyothi Institute of Engineering here, a part of the 48-member group on tour, who survived the tragedy were also flown in another special flight and landed at Shamshabad International airport in Hyderabad.


Bodies of A Vijetha, Lakshmi Gayathri, G Aishwarya and B Rambabu arrived in a special flight at Begumpet airport last night. PTI

Two Russians killed, one missing as vehicle plunges into river

DEHRADUN: Two Russian nationals were killed and one was missing while nine of their compatriots were injured when a vehicle in which they were travelling from Gangotri to Uttarkashi plunged into Bhagirathi river today.

The mishap occurred at Bhagori village in Uttarkashi district on Rishikesh-Gangotri National Highway this afternoon, the Station House Officer of Maneri police station, who was at the site, said.


The tempo fell into Bhagirathi, a tributary of the Ganga, as its driver, an Indian from Rishikesh, lost control of the vehicle, he said.


Bodies of two Russians, one of them a woman, have been recovered while one of the passengers was missing, the official said.


Among the nine injured Russian nationals, eight were women. The driver of the tempo was also injured.


The injured were brought in a chopper to Jollygrant hospital in Dehradun where the condition of six of them was stated to be critical.


Senior officials were on the spot and search was on to trace the missing Russian, he said.


Uttarkashi is 200 km from Dehradun, capital of Uttarakhand. PTI

Pakistani army airstrikes kill 15 militants

PESHAWAR: The Pakistani army said it has carried out airstrikes in a tribal region near the Afghan border, killing at least 15 militants.

An army statement said the air raids on Tuesday morning pounded nine hideouts of the militants in the Tirah Valley of the Khyber tribal region.

The area is part of a lawless terrain along the Afghan border that is home to a mix of local militants and al-Qaeda-linked foreign fighters.

The military action came less than 36 hours after 10 Pakistani Taliban militants launched an assault on the nation’s busiest airport, killing 19 people and raising new challenges for the nuclear-armed nation that is trying to end years of fighting that has claimed thousands of lives.- Agencies

Badal inducts 3 ministers in his cabinet

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today inducted three ministers in his cabinet to fill the vacant berths. Punjab Governor Shivraj V Patil administered the oath of office and secrecy to the ministers at a brief ceremony at the Raj Bhawan here.

Those inducted by Badal in his over two-year-old ministry are -- Tota Singh (Dharamkot MLA), Daljeet Singh Cheema (Ropar MLA) and Sohan Singh Thandal (Chabbewal MLA).


With the induction of the three ministers, the strength of Badal cabinet has risen to 18, including the Chief Minister and his deputy Sukhbir Singh Badal.


While Tota was re-inducted as a minister, as he had resigned in May 2012 after his conviction for a year in a case pertaining to misuse of official vehicle, Cheema and Thandal get the cabinet post for the first time.


Cheema is a doctor by profession and had been associated with the Akali Dal for the past over two decades, whereas Thandal is a Dalit face of the party.


This is SAD-BJP alliance government's first cabinet expansion since it formed the government for the second consecutive term in May 2012.


The three slots in the Badal cabinet had fallen vacant ater resignation by Tota Singh and Bibi Jagir Kaur in 2012 after their convictions in different cases and Sarwan Singh Phillaur had quit the ministerial post last month after his son Damanveer's name got embroiled in a multi-crore synthetic drug case.


Besides Tota, Thandal was convicted in a disproportionate assets case of 2011 by the vigilance bureau, but in 2013 he was acquitted by the High Court.


Veteran leader Tota Singh had been MLA thrice and had remained an education and agriculture minister during his earlier stints.


Tota Singh and Thandal are three-time MLAs while Cheema became legislator for the first time after the 2012 assembly polls.


This will be the first expansion of the Badal government since it formed government on March 3, 2012. Earlier, SAD-BJP alliance was in power from 2007 to 2012.


Besides, other cabinet colleagues of Badal, senior administrative and police officers were present on the occasion.


Later, Badal told media that the vacant pots of ministers were filled on the basis of merit.


"With the induction of three ministers the efficiency of government will improve," he said.


On beings asked that certain MLAs, including Hira Singh Zira was unhappy for not getting his nod, Badal said that it is a family affair and he is a party loyalist. "We respect him (Hira) and do so in future as well," he said. PTI 

More of UPA legacy gone: Modi scraps 4 Cabinet Committees

NEW DELHI: In the second major decision to end the UPA government's legacy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today scrapped four cabinet committees, including one on Unique Identification Authority (UIDAI), as part of his efforts to minimise decision-making processes.

The other committees disbanded were the Cabinet Committee on Prices, the Cabinet Committee on Management of Natural Calamities and the Cabinet Committee on World Trade Organisation Matters, an official statement said.


With regard to the Cabinet Committee on UIDAI-related issues, the statement said major decisions have already been taken and the remaining issues will be brought to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.


The functions of the Cabinet Committee on Prices will now be handled by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, it said.


The functions of the Cabinet Committee on Management of Natural Calamities will be handled by the Committee under the Cabinet Secretary whenever natural calamities occur.


The functions of the Cabinet Committee on World Trade Organisation Matters will also be handled by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs and, whenever necessary, by the full Cabinet.


This is the second major decision of the Modi government to do away with the legacy of the UPA government. Earlier, it had disbanded all the Empowered Groups of Ministers (EGoMs) and Groups of Ministers (GoMs).


These decisions are part of Modi's endeavour to have minimum layers of decision-making.


The statement said the Prime Minister will also be re-constituting the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs and the Cabinet Committee on Security. PTI

KARACHI: Unidentified gunmen on Tuesday opened fire outside Pakistan’s Karachi international airport, a day after an all-night siege ended with the killing of more than 30 people, including 10 Taliban militants.

Heavy firing was reported at the Airport Security Force (ASF) camp number 2, situated near the Jinnah International Airport, Dawn News reported.

About four to five terrorists attacked the camp from Pehlwan Goth side, TV channels reported.

Exchange of firing continues between the ASF officials and terrorists outside the camp. Sounds of explosions were also heard, causing panic among citizens in the vicinity.

Ranges and police continents have rushed to the scene.

An emergency situation has been imposed in the area.

The attack came a day after the deadly assault at Karachi international airport in which 12 security personnel, 8 civilian and 10 terrorists were killed.

The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the attack on airport. - PTI

Govt to go in for 54 new ITBP border posts in Arunachal

NEW DELHI: In a major step to fortify defences along the China border, over 50 new border posts are being planned for the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) force in the north eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.

Official sources said a proposal for creating 54 modern posts for the ITBP is under consideration of the Union Home Ministry after the border guarding force recently submitted a proposal in this regard.

"The Home Ministry has in principle given its nod for the proposal which is being processed," the sources said.

Arunachal Pradesh shares a total of 1,126 km of its international border with China, second in length after Jammu and Kashmir which has a 1,597 km long frontier with India's eastern neighbour.

As part of modernisation and better border management planning of Indian security mechanism along this border, prone to a spate of incursions, the posts will be, under the proposal, equipped with all the basic gadgets that the troops require to position themselves at these icy heights.

"The new border posts will be solar powered and have space to not only accommodate the regular ITBP guards but also to house a small squad of reinforcements in case of emergencies.

The posts will have satellite phone connectivity," the sources said.

At present, India has 142 border posts along this 3,488 km long frontier with other border states being Himachal Pradesh (200 km), Uttarakhand (345 km) and Sikkim (220 km).

Arunachal Pradesh, at present, has close to 30 ITBP border posts but a need has been felt to bolster the presence of the paramilitary men in order to meet border challenges and future commitments, they said. MORE PTI 

NEW DELHI: PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti today pitched for making Jammu and Kashmir a model of SAARC cooperation and said people of the state face "trust deficit" which has to be removed.

Participating in the debate in the Lok Sabha on Motion of Thanks on the President's address, she said instead of discussing the Kashmir issue in various international fora like Geneva and Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), it should be discussed on the floor of the House.

"In which forum it is not discussed...our leaders go there to defend our position. Why not discuss it here. Why discuss it in Geneva, OIC or Pakistan. This is our home, this is our angan (courtyard) ... why shy away from discussing the core of Indianhood," she said.

She said there is a sense of distrust, a "trust deficit" about the people of the state. She said the people of the state will have to be trusted.

The PDP leader said the state should be made the "central piece" of development and should be made a model of SAARC cooperation.

She said routes to Central and South Asia go through Kashmir and it should be exploited for development of the state.

She said besides zero tolerance on riots and crimes, the President's address should also include "zero tolerance" on human rights violations.

She was of the view that while army and security forces have done a commendable job, there were some "black sheep".

The PDP member said Jammu and Kashmir should not been seen from "security angle" only and there should be a separate mechanism to look into the development aspect.

Terming Jammu and Kashmir as a "challenge" for successive Prime Ministers, she hoped that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will follow the principles of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in resolving the issues relating to the state through a humane approach. PTI