tribuneindia...Spotlight

			Saturday, September 25, 1999
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7 killed in Surat firing
SURAT, Sept 24 (PTI) — Seven persons were killed and 11 injured when the police opened fire on a rampaging mob of Ganesh immersion processionists in the sensitive Limbayat area on the outskirts of the city today, the police said. Fifteen persons, including four state reserve police (SRP) personnel, were injured in stone pelting by the unruly mob. The house of BJP councillor Dr Ravindra Patil was set ablaze when he tried to intervene.

Rain claims 12 lives
CALCUTTA, Sept 24 (UNI) — At least 12 persons were killed, scores injured and more than five million affected as torrential rain lashed 12 southern districts of West Bengal since last night. The unprecedented rainfall, recorded at 330 mm in the past 28 hours, paralysed life in the city and districts disrupting road transport, railway and air services. In 1978 the city had recorded 380 mm of rainfall in 72 hours.

Kaiga N-power unit
KAIGA (Karnataka), Sept 24 (PTI) — In yet another boost to the country’s nuclear energy programme the indigenously designed and built second unit of the 220 MW Kaiga Nuclear Power Project attained criticality today. Atomic Energy Commission Chairman P. Chidambaram said the operation went on ‘‘perfectly as planned’’. The project Director Vinod Kumar Sharma was also present. The unit might start commercial power generation from November, the project scientists said.

Tornado kills 9
CALCUTTA, Sept 24 (PTI) — Incessant rains and a tornado have killed nine persons, forced 3,000 others to leave home for safer places and developed a flood-like situation in 12 south Bengal districts since last night. The metropolis received a record concentration of 330 mm rainfall, disrupting rail, road and air traffic. Shops and business establishments remained closed, and even the state secretariat recorded an attendance of 2.5 per cent.

30 killed in Lanka
COLOMBO, Sept 24 (AFP) — Suspected Tamil Tiger guerrillas blasted a military convoy in eastern Sri Lanka today, killing 18 troops, while 12 more persons were killed in continuing violence elsewhere, officials said. The separatist LTTE set off a powerful mine and ambushed the military convoy in Batticaloa, 300 km east of here, the police said.

Russian strikes
GROZNY (Russia), Sept 24 (AFP) — At least 23 persons died in air raids today by Russian warplanes on Chechnya, Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov’s office told AFP. Four persons were killed when Russian fighter-bombers attacked a column of 10 oil trucks on a road near the town of Tsotsin-Yurt, 30 km outside capital Grozny. Another eight persons were killed in their cars when a road between Grozny and Alkhan-Kala village was hit by Russian rockets and three others were killed in separate strikes in Grozny.