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Bring PM under Lokpal’s purview, says Manmohan
Cancel petrol station allotment, says panel
Probe distribution of anti-Muslim booklets:
Cong
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UPA-Left panel to discuss Manipur,
J-K
UPA govt arrogant, says
Mulayam
Rakesh Mohan tipped to
be next Finance Secy
Pak deplores attack on Gurdwara Nankana
Sahib
Andhra water for Chennai
Representatives for talks with Naxals named
SC upholds validity of Solan drug
lab
States told to plug leakages in
PDS
Only 17 pc women know abortion is legal:
study
MP move to hike power tariff
flayed
Smart card to replace passport
Legal hassles mar inquiries into Manorama
case
Christian body seeks probe into
attack
Railways’ new time-table management
Delhi airspace to
be closed for five days
Uncle marries 8-yr old to spite
father
Late rain to benefit rabi crops
Indo-US Naval exercises from Oct
4
GSI to find out arsenic pollution in the Ganges
Committee invites public
response on Godhra
Defer move on Haj pilgrims,
EC tells Centre
Man throws slippers at CJ
Committee approves new series of
coins
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Bring PM under Lokpal’s purview, says Manmohan
Dehradun, September 29 Addressing the valedictory session of the Eighth All-India Lokayukta Conference here, Dr Manmohan Singh said there is a broad agreement on bringing the Prime Minister in the Lokayukta loop. Reiterating President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam’s ideas on widening the purview of Lokayuktas at the opening of the conference two days back, the Prime Minister said all directly or indirectly elected public functionaries, including ministers and MPs should be brought under the purview of Lokayukta. The Prime Minister said the need for the institution of Lokpal is more urgent than ever and the government has the mandate given by the common minimum programme to enact the Bill. “We are committed to the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act to plug the lack of transparency in public life which leads to corruption,” he said. Expressing concern over the growing realisation of widespread corruption in public life, the Prime Minister said the government planned to introduce citizens’ charters and facilitation counters in ministries and departments besides simplifying the rules and procedures to increase accountability. Even as the Prime Minister acknowledged the need for strengthening the institution of Lokayuktas, he said before the institution could be granted constitutional status on the lines of the Election Commission and the CAG, its performance needed to be assessed. It was important that the selection process of the Lokayuktas be streamlined and be made sufficiently impartial. The absence of Lokpal at the Centre had led to difficulties in functioning of the Lokayuktas in the states, the Prime Minister confessed, adding that the appointment of Lokpal needed to be treated with a sense of urgency. Dr Manmohan Singh urged the state governments to cooperate with the Lokayuktas and implement their recommendations, which many times were left to gather dust. The complaint of the Lokayuktas about not being provided with the required information by the bureaucrats must be redressed by plugging the communication gap between the Lokayuktas and the government. Recognising the role of Lokayuktas in keeping a check on administrative highhandedness, the Prime Minister said growing bureaucratism led to corruption and retarded progress. The government had decided to set up an administrative reforms commission to lay down a blueprint for revamping the public administration system, Dr Manmohan Singh said. Speaking at the conference earlier, Governor of Uttaranchal Sudershan Agarwal said corruption was a violation of human rights and it worked as a diminishing factor in development. It ought to be seen that the institution of Lokayukta was not reduced to another toothless tiger in the crusade against corruption, he said urging that the Lokpal Bill must be passed without further delay. Chief Minister ND Tiwari said Uttaranchal had set an example by setting up the office of Lokayukta despite being a young state with big economic challenges. “We have been able to achieve unlike a few other states best left unnamed which have left the office vacant or marginalised,” he said pointing at Punjab, Himanchal Pradesh and Haryana. However, judicial corruption that posed problems in development by way of PILs at times, ought to be checked as well, he stressed. |
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Internal security with Home, not
PM, says his office
New Delhi, September 29 The PMO issued a statement here that there have been “speculative and tendentious reports in the media recently suggesting that the Prime Minister has taken direct charge of matters pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir, North- Eastern states and the Naxalite regions of the country.” “These reports are not accurate,” the statement stressed. “All matters pertaining to internal security are dealt with by the Home Ministry and the relevant state government. There is no change in the extent situation,” the statement added. These reports had arisen because of the belief that the Congress high command felt that Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil had not acted swiftly in trouble-torn Manipur. It was only after vociferous complaints from Manipur that Mr Patil had undertaken a trip to the state to assess first hand situation and held discussion with all sections of opinion. Manipur has been demanding repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. However, the state government had withdrawn the operation of the Act from certain parts of the state capital
Imphal. However, the security forces insist that repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act will handicap them in the fight against insurgency in the North-East. |
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PM may address Economic Summit
New Delhi, September 29 A Pakistani delegation, probably headed by the country’s Commerce Minister, is expected to participate in the three-day event. “It will be for the first time the summit will devote a significant time specifically for South Asian nations— India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka”, WEF Director Collete Mathur said. Ms Mathur said more and more CEOs of global conglomerates were willing to come to India. Meanwhile, a senior official of the World Economic Forum today said Indian economy was expected to grow by 6-7 per cent this fiscal year but warned that the government should sustain the pace of reforms despite resistance from Left parties on many issues.
Dehra Dun, September 29 Speaking to newspersons after a half-an-hour meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr Tiwari said the state government had demanded a package of Rs 850 crore for the current financial year. Mr Tiwari said the Prime Minister also assured him of looking into the demand of setting up Himalayan states' council after talks with Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh in view of special geographical conditions of these states. The government had asked for Rs 550 crore as general assistance and Rs 300 crore as special assistance from the Centre. These demands have been made keeping in view shortage of funds for the modernisation of police to deal with increasing Maoist insurgency and rehabilitation of Tehri dam oustees, Mr Tiwari said. The Prime Minister has also assured the state of a revolving fund of Rs 50 crore for disaster mitigation, he added.
PM rewards woman for bravery
New Delhi, September 29 An official release here said Ms Kamalapati, a resident of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, was seriously injured while rescuing her three neighbours, who were locked in a house which
accidentally caught fire. Hearing to the neighbours, cries, Ms Kamalapati entered the house and rescued those trapped inside. In the process, she received burn injuries. —
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Cancel petrol station allotment, says panel
New Delhi, September 29 The committee, comprising former Supreme Court Judge, Mr S.C. Agrawal and former Delhi High Court Judge, Mr P.K. Bahri, was appointed to look into the matter even after the entire allotments were cancelled by the Vajpayee ministry in 2000 when it had snowballed into a major controversy. The judical panel was appointed by the apex court after courts across the country were flooded with petitions by the
allottees, challenging the government’s order for the cancellation of 3158 allotments, made since January 2000. After the matter had reached the Supreme Court, it had quashed the government’s order for cancelling the allotments and appointed the committee to scrutinise the cases as how many of them were genuine and how many were made for “political” reasons. The then Petroleum Minister, Mr Ram Naik, was accused of making allotments in favour of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar activists and their sympathisers. The committee in its report is believed to have dealt with the allotment in 417 cases and found that over 60 per cent of them were made on “political considerations”. |
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Probe distribution of anti-Muslim booklets:
Cong
Mumbai, September 29 Mr Raj Shroff, son-in-law of Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and the Congress’ candidate from Malabar Hill, caught a few persons distributing these publications. In his complaint Mr Shroff alleged that these persons were representatives of BJP candidate Mangal Prabhat Lodha. The police said it had arrested two persons for distributing the publications. More than 20 others managed to escape. Mr Shroff said the books openly asked Hindus to form a vote-bank to combat the activities of Muslims. The publications cited the example of Muslim leaders in Mumbai who had benefited from vote-bank politics. The books allegedly containing photographs of NCP chief Sharad Pawar and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh in fez caps accused the politicians of appeasing Muslims. The books also accused the Congress of helping alleged Lashkar-e-Toiba activist Ishrat Jehan, who was killed by the Gujarat police while she was said to be on a mission to kill Gujarat CM Narendra Modi. Meanwhile, the city District Collector and District Election Officer Pradeep Vyas said the police was verifying the contents of the booklets and would register an offence if they found the material to be inflammatory. |
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UPA-Left panel to discuss Manipur,
J-K
New Delhi, September 29 It was earlier suggested that the meeting could be held on September 30, but the Left leaders would not be in the city on that date, CPI National Secretary Shamim Faizi said today. Thereafter they would be busy in the Maharashtra elections. The political issues that are likely to figure at the meeting relate to the situation in Manipur and Kashmir. CPI General Secretary
A.B. Bardhan is currently in Manipur to gather first hand information on the situation in the state. Mr Faizi said despite repeated demands by the Left, neither the Assam Rifles was shifted nor any step was taken to lift the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from other areas. The CPI leader said on Kashmir, the Left parties were “very much concerned” with the deadlock in the dialogue process. ‘’The Left feels that while dialogue with the Hurriyat should continue, forces other than the Hurriyat and other
representatives in the state Assembly should be invited for discussions,”
he said. Simultenously, the Left would press for the taking up of some concrete developmental projects in the valley. The CPI leader said during the meeting, the Left would insist on completing the economic agenda, particularly the debate on FDI, for which they have already given notes on the Insurance, Telecom and Civil Aviation sectors. They would register their “strong protest” on the way Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia dealt with the issue of involvement of foreign experts on the Planning Commission panel. The Left might also lodge their protest on the bungling in the Home Ministry regarding the census issue, Mr Faizi added. —
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UPA govt arrogant, says
Mulayam
Hardoi, September 29 “This is the first government in Delhi which is so arrogant in its functioning,” Mr Yadav said before an election meeting here in favour of the Samajwadi Party candidate for by-elections to Ahirauri Assembly seat. The Congress should not forget that the Samajwadi Party, by winning 36 Lok Sabha seats and pushing the BJP to a corner in UP, made its path easier to form the government, he said. While the left parties could win only 41 seats after contesting almost everywhere in the country, the SP managed to win so many seats in one state alone, he said adding position of the Congress has remained the same as left by P.V. Narasimha Rao. The SP President further said if UP was still ranked as one of most poor states of the country, then parties who ruled the state for 44 years in the past must shoulder the blame. Mr Yadav denied allegations that the official machinery was being misused to benefit the ruling party in the by-elections to one Lok Sabha seat and 12 Vidhan Sabha seats in the state. He pointed out that the world’s biggest gas-based power plant was being set up at Dadri in western UP and within two years, it would start generating 12,000 MW power. —
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Rakesh Mohan tipped to
be next Finance Secy
New Delhi, September 29 Dr Mohan, was earlier adviser to the Finance Minister during Mr Yashwant Sinha’s stint at the North Block in the erstwhile NDA regime. The present Finance Secretary, Mr D. C. Gupta is slated for retirement on October 31, this year. While no official word was available, speculation is rife about the Dr Mohan’s return to the North Block as Finance Secretary. Dr Mohan, who has also had a stint as the Economic Adviser in the Industry Ministry earlier and had chaired the Committee on the Infrastructure reforms, has been the Deputy Governor of the RBI since July 2002. A career economist, with stints in various organisations, including the World Bank, Dr Rakesh Mohan’s appointment, may mark a return of economists at top government post. By and large, the post of the Finance Secretary hastraditionally been occupied by a top bureaucrat, although there have been instances where economists have occupied the post. Several names are also doing the rounds about who would replace Dr Mohan as a Deputy Governor at RBI if he takes over as the Finance Secretary. Among them the name of present Chief Economic Adviser Ashok Lahiri. In past, the post has been primarily occupied by a career economist. The incumbent Executive Director of RBI Usha Thorat is another possible candidate whose name is being speculated as a possible replacement for Dr Mohan. In addition, Revenue Secretary Vineeta
Rai, is slated to retire shortly and several names, including that of India’s Ambassador to the WTO K. M.
Chandrashekhar, are doing the rounds as the replacement for Ms Rai. Further, Commerce Secretary Dipak Chatterjee’s extended term is slated to come to an end shortly and Special Secretary (Commerce) S. N. Menon’s name is being discussed as the possible successor. |
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Pak deplores attack on Gurdwara Nankana
Sahib
New Delhi, September 29 In a statement here, the Pakistan High Commission said, “The miscreants would be firmly dealt with in accordance with laws. The provincial government has already taken appropriate measures in this regard and legal cases have been instituted. “The Government of Pakistan wishes to assure the Sikh Community worldwide that it is determined to protect their religious shrines and Sikh heritage in Pakistan. “Pakistan will continue to assist and facilitate the pilgrimage by Sikhs from all over the world to the Sikhs holy shrines and religious places in Pakistan. “It has been Pakistan’s consistent policy to protect the rights and interests as well as safeguard the places of worship of all its citizen, including the minority communities.” |
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Andhra water for Chennai
Chennai, September 29 While DMK President M Karunanidhi today thanked Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy for conceding his request, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa said she would visit Hyderabad on October 1 to meet Dr Reddy in this regard. She had already written two letters to her Andhra Pradesh counterpart seeking immediate release of Krishna waters for Chennai. Incidentally, there is a large population of Telugu-speaking people in this city as before the creation of Andhra Pradesh, the state used to be a part of Madras Presidency and even now most big Telugu business houses have their establishments here. Keeping an eye on the vote-bank here, both Mr Karunanidhi and Ms Jayalalithaa are vying for it and claiming credit as residents in this city have to purchase water as there has Dr Reddy had yesterday given an assurance to Union Shipping Minister T.R. Baalu at a function at Nellore in Andhra Pradesh that water supplied under the project would reach the city before October 15 and asked him to convey it to Mr Karunanidhi. Mr Karunanidhi today sent a fax message to Dr Reddy stating that “on behalf of the people of Chennai and on my own behalf, I want to convey my sincere thanks for conceding my request through Mr T.R. Baalu, and for your public announcement on release of Krishna waters before October 15.” As she came to know about the developments in Hyderabad, Ms Jayalalithaa issued a statement, saying that she had already sent two letters to Dr Reddy regarding the acute drinking water scarcity in Chennai city, which had been continuously facing drought for the past four years and requesting him to honour the 1983 water-sharing agreement and make available 12 TMC feet of water at the Tamil Nadu borders. The statement said that in her letter on September 12, she had categorically requested Dr Reddy that 15 TMC ft of water should be made available to drinking water-starved Chennai city on a “priority basis” as per the agreement reached on April 18, 1983, between the two states. She said she would meet Dr Reddy at Hyderabad on October 1 to personally request him to arrange for releasing Krishna waters from the Srisailam reservoirs to the water-starved Chennai metropolis.
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Representatives for talks with Naxals named
Hyderabad, September 29 He named Civil Liberties activist Kannabhiran, senior journalists Potturi Venkateswara Rao and ABK Prasad, senior High Court advocate Bojja Tarakam, Prof Hara Gopal, Prof Kesharao Jadhav and Prof Seshaiah as mediators. Mr Reddy said the mediators would give suggestions to both sides for successful completion of talks. —
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SC upholds validity of Solan drug
lab
New Delhi, September 29 A Bench of Mr Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Mr Justice Arijit Pasayat, while upholding the April 9, 1984 notification of the state government for setting up of composite drug testing laboratory at Kandaghat, quashed the Himachal Pradesh High Court’s order invalidating its status as a recognised test laboratory under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance (NDPS) Act, 1985. The court held that the view taken by the High Court could not be sustained. The high court had invalidated the legal status of the laboratory on the ground that it was set up prior to the NDPS Act came into force. The ruling came on an appeal by Himachal Government against the high court order acquitting accused Pawan Kumar, sentenced to 10-year imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh in an opium trafficking case by the trial court. He was acquitted on the technical ground that the test report of Kandaghat laboratory was not valid as it was not set up under the NDPS Act. But the Bench differed on the second point raised in the appeal in which the high court’s view on non-compliance of Section 50 of the NDPS Act in the case by the prosecuting agency. Section 50 deals with the methods of search of a person by the police when suspected of carrying drugs. Since there was a difference of opinion in the case about the applicability of the Section 50 in the case, this aspect has been referred to a larger Bench for decision. Since the court has upheld the validity of the lab, it today reversed another order of the high court acquitting accused Jaswant Singh in a separate drug trafficking case, who was also let of on the same technical ground that the Kandaghat lab did not have legal validity. |
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States told to plug leakages in
PDS
New Delhi, September 29 Food Ministry officials said the Centre’s responsibility ended with transportation of food to the state and its subsequent handling rested with the states. They said grave irregularities at the district and block levels made the ration shop system ineffective. There were instances where offtake of grains from the central pool at 60 per cent for families below the poverty line had reduced to 10 per cent in the districts. Officials said most of the “lifted” stocks did not reach the designated blocks and these were “blackmarketed in connivance with the supply inspector, fair price shop dealers and transport contractors.” |
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Only 17 pc women know abortion is legal:
study
New Delhi, September 29 Terming these abortions as illegal, the study conducted by the Population Council said many of these illegal abortions were unsafe and resulted in significant illness and death among women. Access to safe abortion facilities, post-abortion care and counselling was also inadequate, according to the research study on unwanted pregnancy and induced abortions. This was despite the fact that enactment of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act in 1971 had legalised abortions in the country. Data available suggested that uncertified medical or non-medical practitioners conduct most of the estimated 3,52,000 induced abortions every year in Rajasthan illegally. The Population Council, an international NGO, in association with the Centre for Operations Research and Training, undertook the research programme in six districts of the state - Alwar, Bikaner, Bhilwara, Karauli, Pali and Tonk - to collect data on abortions to guide future programming and policy recommendations. Three studies were conducted under the programme, including one on ‘A qualitative exploration of attitudes and behaviours surrounding unwanted pregnancy and induced abortion’. The studies revealed that about 13 per cent women in the area experienced at least one abortion. Abortion levels were particularly high among urban women with 17 per cent, literate at 18 per cent or those residing in a household with a high standard of living 19 per cent. About 20 per cent of women with successful abortions reportedly used a home remedy or obtained services from an informal provider. —
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MP move to hike power tariff
flayed
Bhopal, September 29 Leaders of the Jan Sangharsh Morcha, the Nimar-Malwa Kisan Majdoor Sangathan, the MP City Trade Union Council, the Bank Employees Association, AITUC, MP; the Nigam Mandal Karmachari Mahasangh and other organisations told press persons that the MPSEB was penalising the people of the state for its own corruption and inefficiency. They said the commission had directed the MPSEB to cut down its transmission and distribution losses. Had the MPSEB acted on this sincerely, it could have saved Rs 2000 crore annually. Besides, the MPSEB had not cared to recover Rs 565 crore outstanding against high-tension consumers and hundreds of crores from government agencies. |
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Smart card to replace passport
Lucknow, September 29 While assuring people waiting for their passports at the Regional Passport Office that their waiting period would soon be over, the minister also assured the passport office staff that despite introducing this technologically advanced card no retrenchment would take place. When the Regional Passport Office opened at 10 am today, the waiting passport-seekers were in for a pleasant surprise. Mr Ahmad casually walked in and spoke to people about their problems regarding passports. He also took stock of the civic amenities for the visitors. He pulled up the officers for openly allowing touts in the office. He issued strict instructions to rid the passport office of middlemen. Mr Ahmad later met Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav to bring to his notice the fact that 20,000 passport applications were pending with the Lucknow Regional Passport Office as the mandatory police reports had not been submitted in time. Mr Ahamd also released an Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, case study report to improve the working of the Regional Passport Office, Lucknow. According to the IIM Director, Mr Devi Singh, the case study suggests improvements in terms of processes and layput of the office. It also advocates sweeping changes in attitude and motivation of the staff at the passport office, revealed Mr Devi Singh. |
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Legal hassles mar inquiries into Manorama
case
Imphal, September 29 The writ, filed by the AR, primarily challenged the legal validity of the Commission of Inquiry, set up by the state government, contending that the latter had no right to do so. The court, headed by Mr Justice P. G. Agarwal, fixed the matter for hearing on October 5 following the plea of the lawyer on behalf of the AR. Official sources, however, said government advocate (High Court) T. H. Ibohal appearing for the state, submitted a counter-affidavit before the court. Earlier, acting on the same writ, the court had ordered the state-sponsored inquiry panel, headed by retired Judge C. Upendra, to be done in camera, which the commission had been complying with. Manipur had been going through a trying time since Manorama's body was found on July 11. She had been picked up the Assam Rifles. The locals alleged that she had been raped and killed by the AR personnel. Meanwhile, in a related development, the Imphal Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) has fixed October 8 for hearing the application, filed by the Irilbung police station Officer in-Charge (OC), requesting the court to permit the police to take the DNA test of the AR personnel. The OC had filed the application, on August 31, requesting to allow the police to take blood samples of the AR men for DNA testing at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Kolkata. The application was filed as a follow up to the initial reports of the lab that semen stains were detected on the undergarments of Th. Manorama. On the other hand, the Army Court of Inquiry had been urging for access to the DNA profile of Manorama and other related materials in possession of the Irilbung OC, which the CJM had rejected in its latest hearing. —
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Christian body seeks probe into
attack
Hyderabad, September 29 The attack on six members of Missionaries of Charity, by unidentified persons on September 25 in Kozhikode district, was preceded by the killing of 71-year-old Fr. Job Chittilappilly in Trichur district on August 28, AIUCMER president Jose Daniel told reporters here. Since proselytising activities of Christian missionaries was said to be the reason behind both the attcks, there could be a nexus between the accused in both cases, he said. Mr Daniel demanded immediate arrest of those involved in the incident and a judicial probe to uncover the forces and motives behind the attacks. Describing the discrimination faced by Christian dalits as Indian version of apartheid policy, the AIUCMER official demanded reservation facilities for Dalit Christians during the forthcoming winter session of the Parliament. He said the Government of India must give highest priority to end discrimination of Scheduled Castes on the basis of religion and introduce a bill to amend the Constitution to include SCs following Christitan faith at par with those following other religions. — PTI |
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Railways’ new time-table management
New Delhi, September 29 According to a statement issued by Railway Ministry here today, the system is being developed by the Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS). It seeks to provide terminals for installation in all control offices at the divisions and the zonal railway headquarters emergency control. |
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Delhi airspace to
be closed for five days New Delhi, September 29 The airspace would remain closed from 8 am to 10 am for rehearsals from October 3 till the Air Force Day on October 8. No flights will be allowed to take off or land during this period on these days reports said. As a result the Jet Airways today announced the rescheduling of its flights on several sectors, including those connecting Delhi
with Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Leh,Guwahati, Jaipur, Udaipur, Bagdogra and Lucknow. The rescheduling of these flights would cause consequential delays to some other flights on the Jet Airways network on these days, the premier private carrier said in a press note. |
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Uncle marries 8-yr old to spite
father
Chennai, September 29 Some NGOs have managed to convince the child and her father to get the “mangalsutra” removed for the time being, but the future of the child who is housed in a protective home remains uncertain. Vijayarajan had suspected the hand of the girl’s father Ayyavu, in the elopement of his wife. Hence, despite being the uncle of the child, he abducted Amudhamani and married her. Theni District Collector Sunil Paliwal said: “We had a tough time talking to the father and the uncle to make them agree to the removal of the mangalsutra.” “NGOs active in the sphere of social action questioned the practice of child marriage in the tribal community and raised a public outcry and we had to yield to it,” he said. “While we respect the community’s sentiments, child marriage, which is banned in the country is an evil practice. On that ground the government had to step in and for the time being, we have succeeded in ‘suspending’ the marriage,” he added. Sources in Theni added that the girl would remain married, but the sign of womanhood would remain in a locker till she is able to make up her mind. Vijayarajan has fathered three children through his earlier marriage. “We are trying to trace Vijayarajan’s first wife to save the child’s future and prevent the child from being embarrassed in her future life,” said Gomathi Nayagam, director of Reaching The Unreachable, which runs an orphanage in the area. “The child was initially in a state of shock. However, she is now happy and playing with other kids,’’ he observed. |
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Late rain to benefit rabi crops
New Delhi, September 29 The Crop Weather Watch Group meeting held here monitored the position of crops and input availability nationwide besides taking the stock of weather and availability of water in reservoirs. Since it is late for sowing most kharif crops, no increase in the area such crops was reported, an official release said. The south-west monsoon is withdrawing later than normal this year. This will result in rains in the southern parts of the country before the north-east monsoon sets in those areas. The rain would prove very useful for sowing of rabi crops. However, late sowing of rice has led to an area increase by about 7 million hectare over last week’s 33.8 million hectare, it said. The meeting also observed that despite the occurrence of pests and dry weather in the parts of the country, oilseed production was not likely to be affected. The weekly monitoring meeting was chaired by Mr R. S. Pandey, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture & Cooperation and was attended by representatives of the ICAR, IMD, CWC, concerned divisions of the Agriculture Ministry and departments of Economic Affairs and Fertilisers. |
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Indo-US Naval exercises from Oct
4
New Delhi, September 29 In the sixth series of Malabar exercises, the frontline Indian anti-submarine warfare ships will match their skills with the US Pacific fleets’ Los Angeles-class nuclear submarine as well as Ticonderoga missile cruiser and Oliver Hazard Perry class guided-missile frigate. For the first time, the US Navy will include long-range maritime and submarine hunter aircraft P3C Orions in the exercises. New Delhi and Washington are in an advanced stage of negotiations on the Navy acquiring 10 of these aircraft on government-to-government sales, to augment its depleted maritime capabilities. For the week-long exercises with its accent on anti-submarine warfare, the Indian Navy is fielding one Delhi-class guided missile destroyer, one Brahmputra-class guided missile frigate, German-acquired HDW Shishukar Class Submarine and Sea-Harrier jump jet fighters operating from Goa land bases. Besides, the anti-submarine warfare, the two navies would also undertake manoeuvres on sea-control missions, fleet air defence, surface firings and maritime interdiction operations. — PTI |
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GSI to find out arsenic pollution in the Ganges
New Delhi, September 29 The CGPB, consisting of representatives of Central and state governments, public sector undertakings and some private agencies, is the apex body at the national level to overview geo-scientific activities, including mineral exploration in the country. Officials said the GSI assessed additional coal reserves of 2,987 million tonnes and 98 mt of lignite in the past year. The GSI is contemplating a seismic study across a part of the Himalayan range with Russian scientists. Several developing countries, including Bhutan, have shown keen interest in having collaboration with the GSI in the field of mineral exploration. Officials said the GSI had participated in all 23 Antartica expeditions with nine of them being led by men from the agency. |
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Committee invites public
response on Godhra
New Delhi, September 29 The committee constituted to ascertain the cause of the fire in the train at Godhra on February 27, 2002, has offered to provide travel facilities to persons who meet the members of the committee. According to an official statement issued here today, persons volunteering information have been asked to contact the committee secretary, Mr Sanjiv Garg. The comittee assisted by three experts, Mr Balakesari, Mr S.K. Khanna and Mr S.K. Dheri, began work from September 18 with its headquarters here.
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Defer move on Haj pilgrims,
EC tells Centre
New Delhi, September 29 EC spokesperson told reporters that “any decision on providing subsidy to Haj pilgrims should be deferred till October 13.” The Commission had taken suo motu congizance of media reports and had sought comments from the government on its recent decision to restore Haj facilities ahead of the assembly election poll. In another decision, the poll panel has decided to deploy Central Government officials from Patna and other places as Presiding Officers in the sensitive Madhepura Lok Sabha constituency, which goes to the polls on October 13. |
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Man throws slippers at CJ
New Delhi, September 29 The man, identified as Charanjit Singh Sidhu of Uttam Nagar locality of the Capital, who threw slippers and hurled abuses, was taken into custody by the security personnel of the court. He appeared disturbed and was agitated after the Bench refused to entertain his application, which was not listed for hearing today. However, the Bench continued with the proceedings. Lawyers, including President of the Delhi High Court Bar Association Amarjit Singh Chandioke, rushed to the Chief Justice’s Court and requested him to adjourn the proceedings. But the Bench observed “these are occupational hazards of access to justice. —
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Committee approves new series of
coins
New Delhi, September 29 The coins of Rs 10 denomination would be introduced to partially supplement the demand for notes of Rs 10 denomination. Notes of Rs 10 denomination will continue to be printed and issued in circulation, though in reduced quantity. The design and themes (first with Unity in Diversity, second with Mudras from Bharatnatyam and third with Connectivity and Information Technology) of the new series of coins have been prepared by the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. The obverse side of the coins would carry the Lion Capital as well as the denomination in prominent Roman numerals. This would reduce the intrinsic value of coins from their face value, to take care of security features against counterfeiting and easy recognition by the public. The CCEA also approved the proposal to extend the World Bank assisted Revised National TB Control Programme by another one and half-years, starting from April 2004. The extended programme, with no additional financial implications, would be covered in two phases first from April 2004 to September 2004 at a cost of Rs 75.20 crore while the second phase would start from October 2004 to September 2005 at a cost of Rs 160.75 crores. The total cost of extension of the programme for one and half year would come to around Rs 235.77 crore which would be covered within the saving from the original approved budget for the project. |
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