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Kosi flood threat: Bihar orders forcible evacuation

Modi meets Koirala; three agreements signed

Kathmandu: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday met his Nepalese counterpart Sushil Koirala during which the two sides signed three agreements, including a NRs 69 million grant to Nepal to supply iodated salt to curb iodine deficiency diseases.

Modi, who arrived in Kathmandu on Sunday morning on his maiden official visit to Nepal, met Koirala at Singha Durbar Secretariat.

The two leaders discussed various issues, including Nepal’s peace process and Constitution-drafting process as well as economic issues.

They also discussed various facets of mutual relations and issues of common interest.

After the talks, Modi and Koirala witnessed the signing of three agreements.

Under the first agreement, India will provide a grant assistance worth NRs 69 million to supply iodated salt to curb goitre and other disease s related with iodine deficiency.

The second agreement was regarding the amendment of Articles 17 and 18 of the Pancheswor Multiple Project, the Himalayan Times reported.

The third agreement is about cooperation between Nepal Television and Doordarshan, the state-owned television stations of both the countries, it said.

From Singhadurbar, Modi went to the Constituent Assembly building in New Baneshwar to meet Speaker Subas Chandra Nembang.

On his way to the Constituent Assembly, Modi stopped his convoy to meet common people.

Earlier, Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to pay a bilateral visit to Nepal in 17 years, was given a rousing welcome with his counterpart receiving him at Tribhuvan International Airport, deviating from protocol for the purpose.

Deputy Prime Ministers Bam Dev Gautam and Prakash Man Singh were also present at the airport.

Nepalese Foreign Minister Mahendra Pandey paid a courtesy call on Modi and briefly discussed some bilateral issues, including hydro-power, trade, energy and security.

The meeting took place at a five-star hotel an hour after Modi arrived on a two-day trip, becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to pay a bilateral visit to Nepal in 17 years.

“The talks were held in a very cordial and friendly atmosphere,” Pandey told PTI after the meeting.

Modi, in his pre-departure statement summing up the sentiment attached to the two-day trip, had said, “I am excited about my visit and pleased that I am able to go there within weeks of assuming office as Prime Minister.”

Modi had said that he looks forward to working with the Nepalese leadership to forge a “new relationship” by identifying steps to strengthen bilateral cooperation in key sectors, including trade and investment, hydropower, agriculture and agro-processing, environment, tourism, education, culture and sports. — PTI

HSGMC supporters continue to sit on dharna

CHANDIGARH: The supporters and leaders of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) continued to sit on a dharna at Kurukshetra for the second day today, remaining adamant to wrest control of the gurdwaras from the Amritsar-based SGPC, even as a SAD delegation met the Haryana Governor here and demanded immediate review of the "unconstitutional" Act passed by the state Assembly.

A senior Haryana police officer maintained that the situation near the site, where the HSGMC supporters, were sitting on a dharna was volatile, but under control.

"A group of Sikhs is still squatting near Gurdwara Chhevin Patshahi (Kurukshetra). Yesterday, they moved to the site to take over control of the shrine. The situation is slightly volatile, but better than yesterday," Kurukshetra's Superintendent of Police, Ashwin Shenvi, said.

He said that a posse of police has been deployed in the area to prevent any untoward incident.

"Yesterday, the Sikhs who were squatting on the road, have cleared it and moved to the side of footpaths. However, as a precautionary measure, we have diverted the vehicular traffic on that road (near the gurdwara). The situation is fully under control and at the moment we don't see a build-up which would lead to any clash (between Haryana SGMC and Amritsar-based SGPC supporters.)," he said.

In Chandigarh, a high-level delegation of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) comprising SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar, SAD Secretary General Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, SAD leaders Prem Singh Chandumajra and Daljit Singh Cheema met Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki here today and demanded "immediate review of the unconstitutional Act passed by the Haryana Assembly against Sikh Gurdwara Act 1925."

"We apprised the Governor that by enacting this Act, the Haryana Assembly has engrossed upon the area of the SGPC, which has been declared as an inter-state body corporate as per the Punjab Reorganisation Act 1966," Cheema said.

Cheema said the delegation also apprised the Governor of the plans of the separate committee to "forcibly take control of the historical gurdwaras being governed by the SGPC." "The delegation urged the Governor to direct the Haryana government to work as per the constitutional norms and tell them to desist from evil designs which can cause massive unrest and law and order situation in the state.

"A detailed memorandum was also submitted to the Governor about the unconstitutional Act passed by the Haryana Assembly and we have demanded immediate reversal of the process," Cheema said.

Meanwhile, the separate committee leaders and supporters, who gathered in large number outside the Kurukshetra gurdwara, remained adamant on taking over control of the shrines in Haryana from the SGPC, the apex religious body of the Sikhs.

Yesterday, in their efforts for taking over control of gurdwaras in Haryana, HSGMC leaders and supporters started a march and later sat on a dharna outside Chhevin Patshahi gurdwara in Kurukshetra, which is still under the control of the Amritsar-based SGPC.

Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, which had earlier ordered to maintain status quo, has again appealed for peace.

Akal Takht Jathedar Gyani Gurbachan Singh has said in Amritsar that both groups — the Haryana SGMC and SGPC — must exercise restraint.

However, Haryana's separate committee leaders Jagdish Singh Jhinda and Didar Singh Nalwi, both of whom have been ex-communicated from the Sikh community by Akal Takht, have maintained that the Sikh community of Haryana will not tolerate "forcible occupation of the gurdwaras".

The row has been escalating after Haryana formed its separate committee last month, yielding to the "long-standing" demand of the Haryana Sikhs. The Congress had promised in its poll manifesto a separate committee for the state's Sikhs in 2005. — PTI

Woman jailed in UK for killing Sikh man

LONDON: A 31-year-old woman has been sentenced to six years in jail in the UK for killing a Sikh man while driving a car at over 110 km per hour and texting and talking on two phones.

Marina Usaceva, originally from Latvia, crashed her Jaguar into the back of 27-year-old Sukhdeep Singh Johal's Peugeot in Cambridgeshire on March 15 last year, causing the death of the biomedical science graduate, The Independent reported.

Prosecutor Georgina Gibbs told the court that Usaceva was using not one but two phones at the time of accident, even as she was driving at over 110 km per hour.

Usaceva, the mother of an eight-year-old child, denied using phones while driving, but evidence collected by the police showed that Usaceva used one phone for sending and receiving text messages and the other phone for making calls and receiving three incoming calls in the 20 minutes leading to the crash.

Pronouncing the judgement, Judge Sean Enright said, "If you were not sending texts at the time, then you were fiddling with your phone and that is what caused this collision.

"In my opinion there is not a scrap of remorse. Mobile phone use while driving is a plague on our society," the judge said.

The court heard she had previously been caught twice using her phone behind the wheel and that her licence was endorsed in 2009 and 2012.

Outside the court, Johal's father Buhupinder said no sentence would be enough to console his family.

"Even 60 years wouldn't be enough, but this is some kind of justice. The only thing we can hope is that others will learn from this," Buhupinder said.

Victim's father also recalled how his son was rescued from a house fire, when he was one-year-old, by wrapping him in a turban and throwing outside from a window.

"We tell ourselves this was a miracle and we had 26 years with him that we might not have had," he added. PTI

IOA Secretary General, wrestling referee arrested in Glasgow

Glasgow: The Indian contingent at the ongoing Commonwealth Games was on Sunday left thoroughly embarrassed after IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta and an unattached wrestling referee, Virender Malik, were arrested on different charges.

While Mehta has been arrested for drunken driving, Malik, who is not part of the official contingent, is facing a more serious charge of sexual assault.

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman confirmed the arrests but refused to divulge anything more.

“On August 2, a 45-year-old man was arrested following reports of an alleged assault in the west of Glasgow,” said the spokeswoman.

The two will be produced in court on Monday.

The duo was, however, not staying with the official 215-strong contingent which is putting up at the Games village. Both of them were reportedly lodged at a local hotel.

Asked if Malik had been arrested for alleged sexual assault, the spokeswoman said, “I cannot confirm right now.”

“We are aware of the matter. It is a matter of the Scotland Police and any question related to this issue should be addressed to them,” said Commonwealth Games Federation CEO Mike Hooper.

The Indian Consulate in Edinburgh said it is liaising with the police on the matter.

“We have learnt about the detention of two members of the Commonwealth contingent by the local (Glasgow) police. Our Consulate in Edinburgh has deputed an official to Glasgow to keep in close touch with the police authorities to ascertain full factual details of the case,” a spokesman said.

“We are also in touch with the team,” he added.

According to unconfirmed reports, Mehta was allegedly caught drink-driving and told the police to not release details of his arrest even to his family, which is travelling with him.

Depending on how over the legal alcohol limit he was, Mehta could face anything from a hefty fine or a driving ban to a jail term. — PTI

Dipika-Joshana win historic squash gold

GLASGOW: Dipika Pallikal and Joshana Chinappa created history by winning India's first-ever squash medal at the Commonwealth Games when they won the women's doubles final in straight games to clinch the gold at the Scotstoun Sports Campus here Saturday.

The Indian combine had a rather easy outing by winning the summit clash 11-6, 11-8 against England's Jenny Duncalf and Laura Massaro, who once again failed in the final after having settled for the silver four years ago in New Delhi.

Another English pair Alison Waters and Emma Beddoes took home the bronze overcoming Australians Rachael Grinham and Kasey Brown 11-3, 11-5 in a playoff.

Though Dipika and Joshana won the first game quite comfortably, they were trailing in the second to the English pair. However, the Indians displayed nerves of steel to overtake their opponents and come out on top to clinch the yellow metal.-PTI

Vijender settles for silver

GLASGOW: A gold medal eluded the Indian boxers through the evening and the four pugilists in fray for the top prize, including Olympic bronze winner Vijender Singh, had to be content with a silver each in the 20th Commonwealth Games here today.

Vijender, a bronze medallist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, was comprehensively beaten 3-0 by England's Antony Fowler in men's middleweight 75-kg bout at the SSE Hydro.

The star Indian pugilist suffered a knockdown against Fowler as India ended their boxing campaign at the Games on a rather disappointing note.

As many as four Indians made it to the final in their respective weight categories but all of them suffered defeats.

Apart from the four silver, India have brought home a bronze. Besides Vijender, Mandeep Jangra (men's 69kg), Laishram Devendro Singh (men's 46-49kg) and Laishram Sarita Devi (women's 57-60kg) lost their final bouts today. Pinki Jangra had won a bronze in women's 51kg after losing her semifinal match yesterday.

Vijender, on whom the Indian boxing team had its hopes pinned, failed to live up to the expectations as he was beaten by a superior opponent in an unanimous verdict at a jam-packed venue.

The 28-year-old Indian was not his aggressive self and failed to breach the tight defence of his opponent. To the dismay of the Indian team, Vijender got a knockdown in the first round itself as he failed to thwart a ferocious punch from the Englishman and he was on his knees as the referee began the countdown.

Vijender got up in no time but he looked rattled by the blow. Fowler dominated the second round also as he got the nod of all the three judges, with Vijender finding it hard to land his punches on his opponent.

Vijender, who had won a silver in the 2006 Melbourne Games and a bronze in the 2010 Delhi Games, came back strongly in the third and final round and all the three judges gave scores in favour of him but the deficit from the first two rounds was too much for him to stage a fightback.

Jangra, too, struggled, losing his bout rather tamely, to England's Scott Fitzgerald 3-0 while suffering three knockdowns. — PTI

Arpinder wins bronze, gives India third medal in athletics

GLASGOW: Arpinder Singh gave India its third medal in athletics as he won a bronze in the men's triple jump event of the 20th Commonwealth Games here.

The Indian athletics team was hoping for a medal from Arpinder after he leapt a brilliant 17.17m in June and he lived upto the expectations by winning a bronze with a best jump of 16.63m at the Hampden Park which was hit by evening rain.

The 21-year-old Arpinder achieved his best jump in his first attempt and he could not improved upon the mark in his subsequent five efforts. He had a series of 16.46m, 16.31m and 16.09m after his first effort while his last two attempts were foul jumps.

Khotso Mokoena of South Africa won gold with a jump of 17.20m while 2010 Delhi Games winner Tosin Oke of Nigeria settled for a silver with an effort of 16.84m.

On his performance, Arpinder said, "It was good. The weather was not good. My coach was not here, so it wasn't a very good performance. My next big championships are the Asian Games." With Arpinder's bronze, India bagged three medals from athletics, including one gold by Vikas Gowda in men's discus throw. Seema Poonia had won a silver in women's discus throw yesterday.

Nobody had expected more than three medals from Indian athletics team in Glasgow Games but it was a far cry from the 12 medals, including two gold, won in 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.

Meanwhile, all the other Indians in fray in track and field events came up with disappointing performances.

In the men's javelin throw finals, Vipin Kasana and Ravinder Singh Khaira ended their campaign in disaster as both of them returned with 'No Mark' results.

The women's 4x400m relay team did not do any better as the quartet of M R Poovamma, Tintu Luka, Rattandeep Kaur and Anilda Thomas were disqualified in the final race. — PTI

GPS to be installed in apple-carrying vehicles: HP govt

SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh government will install Global Positioning System (GPS) in all apple-carrying vehicles to monitor their movements and check theft cases.

Horticulture Minister Vidya Stokes said the state government had implemented the system for the first time in Shimla district during the last apple season on a pilot basis which proved successful.

The GPS would be installed in trucks and other vehicles carrying the fruit in all the apple-producing districts of the state to monitor trucks and check theft cases, Stokes said, while presiding over a high-level meeting for making proper arrangements in the apple season.

The government has made elaborate arrangements for smooth transportation of apples to terminal markets and timely arrangement of packing material and trucks has been made, she said.

The minister said identity cards would be issued to the drivers to facilitate growers.

She also directed the police administration to assist Excise and Taxation Department and Agricultural Produce Market Committee in implementing the new packaging laws regarding weight of apples in boxes and cartons.

She said a barricade would be set up at Tippa near Parwanoo in Solan district to check the specified weight of boxes.

Stokes said the horticulture sector has played a vital role in the economy of the state and generated annual income of "more than Rs 3200 crore".

The horticulture minister also asked the PWD to undertake maintenance of roads and make all necessary arrangements during the apple season to ensure that people do not face any difficulty. -PTI