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Wednesday,
September 18, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Over 47 pc polling in J&K: EC Naidu dares Cong to take Modi to court |
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Centre in a quandary over Judges’ pay hike Upgraded Sukhois set to join IAF Laloo seeks Nitish’s arrest Ramoowalia’s memo over Punjabis in Italy
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Metro train on trial run New Delhi, September 17 The world-class metro, described by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit as a “project which has no chance of stopping”, is expected to start running before Christmas. The Shahdara-Tis Hazari section will be opened for passenger traffic by the third week of December while the full Phase I system will be ready by September 2005. The first four-coach train received last month will be subjected to safety tests and integrated trials till November. It has a total carrying capacity of 1,500 passengers. Initially, the trains will operate at an interval of eight minutes which would gradually reduce to five minutes and later to three minutes. These trains will run at an average speed of 32 to 35 kmph over an average station distance of 1.1 to 1.3 km. The distance from Shahdara to Tis Hazari will be covered in 13 minutes. Congratulating the residents of Delhi, the Deputy Prime Minister said like colour television, metro had arrived in Delhi late. “Going by the cooperation between Central and state governments and various agencies, it promises to be a world-class metro,” he said. Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Hirabayashi sprung a surprise by making his opening remarks in Hindi. He described the metro as a “symbol of Indo-Japan friendship and cooperation.” Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion were the Union Minister for Urban Development, Mr Ananth Kumar, DMRC Managing Director of the Konkan Railway fame, Mr E. Sreedharan, and the Lt-Governor of Delhi, Mr Vijai
Kapoor. |
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Over 47 pc polling in J&K: EC New Delhi, September 17 The highest overall voter turnout of 75.89 per cent was in Kargil district, while the lowest turnout of 41.72 per cent was in Baramula district. While Poonch recorded 62.36 per cent, Kupwara registered 53.39 per cent and Rajouri district 44.44 per cent, an EC statement issued here said. The Zanskar constituency in Kargil district recorded maximum polling of 78.74 per cent, while the lowest turnout of 7.83 per cent was at Sopore constituency in Baramula district. The poll percentage in other constituencies were Karnah (70.98), Kupwara (54.84), Handwara (50.62), Langate (53.38), Uri (56.58), Rafiabad (52.39), Gurez (76.70), Bandipora (31.22), Sonawari (55.85), Sangrama (24.75), Baramula (24.06), Gulmarg (50.18), Pattan (55.82), Kargil (74.89), Nowshera (58.19), Darhal (46.59), Rajouri (27.16), Kalaxote (50.49), Surankote (35.00), Mendhar (60.58) and Poonch Haveli (60.82). |
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Naidu dares Cong to take Modi to court New Delhi, September 17 In an oblique reference to the Congress’ threat to seek legal recourse to disqualify Mr Modi for his allegedly provocative speeches during the Gujarat Gaurav Yatra, Mr Naidu said: “Do they need permission to go to the court?” adding that everyone was free to approach the court on any issue. Inaugurating the National Executive meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha here, he said people were familiar with the deeds of the Congress and its leaders during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi that followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. People would compare statements of Congress leaders defending the massacres at that time and the condemnation of the killings in Gujarat by the BJP leaders, he said. “In Godhra they (Congress) were silent and in Ahmedabad they were violent,” Mr Naidu said, refering to the reaction of the Congress towards the massacre of Karsevaks on the Sabarmati Express on February 27. Reacting to Congress MP Kapil Sibal’s assertion that a defeat for the BJP in Gujarat was a certainty, Mr Naidu said: “If the Congress is so sure of victory, why is it afraid of facing elections.... People are the best judge and the BJP will go to them.” Terming the Gujarat Gaurav Yatra a success, Mr Naidu said many Gujarati Muslims were taking part in the yatra while the Congress and other pseudo-secular parties had raised a big row against the rally. The BJP President said the Supreme Court’s decision on the NCERT text book controversy was a “slap” on the face of the Congress and Left parties which had resisted deletion of derogatory references against communities such as Sikhs, Jains, Jats and Brahmins in the name of
saffronisation. |
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Centre in a quandary over Judges’ pay hike New Delhi, September 17 A serious anomaly has occurred due to the implementation of the Justice K.J. Shetty National Judicial Pay Commission recommendations by the Centre in District and Sessions Courts in union territories and the failure of state governments to implement it. According to sources, all state governments have written to the Centre, expressing their inability to implement the pay revision recommendation on the grounds of acute shortage of resources. Some state governments, while expressing their inability to implement the recommendations, have put conditions like a freeze in the payment of dearness allowance to pensioners and government employees and reduction of retirement age for government employees from 60 years to 58 years to arrest fiscal deficits and then explore the possibility of implementing the Justice Shetty Commission recommendations, sources said. State governments have also expressed their inability to implement the Justice Shetty Commission recommendations stating that they are reeling under severe fiscal deficit due to the recent implementation of the fifth Pay Commission recommendations for state government employees, sources said. Under the circumstances, the Centre is planning to soon convene a meeting of state Finance Ministers to deliberate on the issue so that it can give an integrated reply to the Supreme Court when it is approached for seeking extension of the implementation date. |
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Upgraded Sukhois set to join IAF New Delhi, September 17 While the IAF has already received eight of the 10 aircraft due to be inducted, the other two fighter aircraft are due to arrive in the next few days. According to reports, Indian pilots, having already mastered the earlier version of SU-30 fighters, were now studying the new multi-role aircraft to know the finer points under the supervision of Russian instructors. Among other things, India has become the first country in the world to receive warplanes replete with Bars (snow leopard) phased-array radars, which were developed at the Instrument-Engineering Research and Development Institute in the town of Zhukovsky just outside Moscow. The Sukhois, which feature variable-thrust engines, fit into the super-agile warplane category. Sources said Indian experts were fully involved in the development of the upgraded version of the Sukhois. “This was the first modified integrated project of its kind in which India was involved with Russia in the development phase”, they noted. The upgraded version of the Sukhois would meet the IAF’s long-standing need for multi-role fighters. The sources said the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) would start the licenced production of the Sukhoi aircraft after 2004. |
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Laloo seeks Nitish’s arrest Patna, September 17 Mr Laloo Yadav, who was accompanied by the party spokesperson Shivanand Tiwary, while addressing a hurriedly called press conference today released the copies of a railway document that was submitted to the Railway Ministry by the Senior Divisional Engineer of Eastern Railway, Mr Ranaut Kumar. The document is about the rail safety check done on the Dhawa river bridge along with 12 other bridges four months ago. |
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Ramoowalia’s memo over Punjabis in Italy New Delhi, September 17 In a memorandum, Mr Ramoowalia, who is also the President of the Lok Bhalai Party, pointed out that the Indian aliens in Italy were struggling hard to meet the deadline of October 8, 2002, set by the Italian Government for granting general amnesty to illegal entrants from all over the world. Mr Ramoowalia met large delegations of Indian nationals in Italy during his recent visit there who complained of utter lack of positive response from Indian missions in Rome and Milan and resultant delays in issuing them new passports or granting renewals. |
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