 |
|
Don’t bow to pressure in seer case, CPM asks TN Govt
Panel begins probe into
stampede
India keen to continue talks with Pak:
Natwar
ULFA may join talks on
Assam
Ajeetesh, Mehak get National Child
Awards
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Health services hit in Bihar
POTA detainees continue to languish in
TN
AP project to link Godavari, Krishna
rivers
900 Leftists arrested for staging ‘rail roko’
Anupam Kher to appear in court on Nov 17
Smugglers’ preferences
change with economy
|
|
Don’t bow to pressure in seer case, CPM asks TN Govt
New Delhi, November 14 “While the case should be pursued with sensitivity keeping in mind the religious status of the individual concerned, it must be emphasised that this is not a religious matter,” CPI (M) said in a statement here. The party said efforts of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and some other forces to give a “communal colour” to the arrest of Kanchi Shankaracharaya was condemnable. “The arrest of Kanchi Shankaracharaya Sri Jayendra Saraswati has taken place in the background of an investigation by the police in a murder case. The prosecution has stated that sufficient evidence exists to proceed against him. Nobody is above law and the judicial process should proceed unhindered,” the party said. |
|
Panel begins probe into
stampede
New Delhi, November 14 The committee, constituted by Northern Railway General Manager R.R. Jaruhar, comprises Additional DRM O.P. Singh, Chief (Traffic) Ajay Anand, DIG (RPF) Nirmal Singh and DCP (Crime), Railways, Tejinder Luthra. The Committee has been asked to submit its report latest by November 19. Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav had also announced inquiry by a committee headed by a Joint Secretary-level official. Five women died and at least 10 persons, including three women, were injured when thousands of passengers jostled with each other to board the Patna-bound Jansadharan Express yesterday. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Northern Railway said the situation was totally under control today at New Delhi railway station as most of the passengers had already left for their destinations. To clear the rush the Northern Railway is running five extra trains along with eight already scheduled special trains. Apart from this, the Northern Railway has decided that 64 extra coaches would be attached to the regular trains bound for Bihar from tomorrow to November 18. This would be over and above the 62 compartments already attached to the existing trains so far. |
|
India keen to continue talks with Pak:
Natwar
New Delhi, November 14 “We are hopeful that President Musharraf will stand by the commitment he made on January 6, 2004. We hope that cross-border activity will cease and terrorist movement will stop,” Mr Natwar Singh told newspersons on the sidelines of the ‘Second International Law Conference’. The minister said India was keen to carry the dialogue process forward when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets Pakistani leaders in Dhaka during the SAARC summit in January next year. However, he hastened to add that there would be no set agenda for the talks when the leaders of the two countries meet in Dhaka. Mr Musharraf had assured the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Islamabad on January 6 this year that the territory under Pakistan’s control would not be allowed to be used for terrorist activities against India or any other country. The External Affairs Minister said India would soon have eight meetings with Pakistan to discuss the interaction between the trading communities of both countries, linking the countries by rail and road, opening up of consulates in Karachi and Mumbai, apart from talks on nuclear issues and cross-borer terrorism. “India and Pakistan will keep each other informed on the developments regarding nuclear issues,” he said. |
|
ULFA may join talks on
Assam
Guwahati, November 14 Talking to this correspondent, Ms Indira Goswami said it was way back in 2001 when she met Ms Milik Barua, mother of Paresh Barua, at Dumduma in Assam, the hometown of Paresh Barua. Paresh’s mother with tears in her eyes requested Ms Goswami to bring Paresh back home. Mrs Milik Barua knew that frustrated over the alleged double-game played by political leaders in Assam and Delhi, Paresh Barua trusted Ms Indira Goswami in view of his past association with her as a student before he took up arms for the cause of Assam’s sovereignty. Ms Indira Goswami has already prepared her draft proposal, approved by Paresh Barua, to bring ULFA to the negotiating table. She is supposed to hand over this draft to the Prime Minister by November 20 in Delhi to facilitate the process of talks. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has not only welcomed the initiative taken by Ms Goswami but also spoken to Congress President Sonia Gandhi to take up this issue with Dr Manmohan Singh. Ms Goswami pointed out that she had taken the initiative on her own and that her only interest was to bring peace in the region. “I want unconditional talks between the Centre and ULFA and a free exchange of views. If the centre can talk to the NSCN (IM), which was also demanding sovereignty, why not with ULFA, which wants to join the mainstream if its gesture is reciprocated by the Central Government,” claimed Ms Goswami. |
|
Ajeetesh, Mehak get National Child
Awards
New Delhi, November 14 The awards were presented by Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh at Vigyan Bhavan here on Children’s Day. Sixteen-year-old Ajeetesh has been playing golf since 1998 and has won many championships and secured top positions in tournaments at national and international levels. He achieved first positions in Northern Indian Junior, Sub-Junior Golf Championship in December, 2000 at Delhi and Eastern India Junior, Sub-Junior Golf Championship in December, 2000 at Kolkata. He secured first position in International Golf Championship held in Canada and 10th position in Asia Pacific meet held in Malaysia in May, 2001. Twelve-year-old Mehak, who was the winner of the 39th National Skating Championship, 2002, bagged the National Child Awards for Exceptional Achievement for her extraordinary talent in the field of sports (roller skating). In a short span, she has won 44 gold, silver and two bronze medals. She has also won cash award of Rs 1,500 given by CITCO, Chandigarh, in road race, Rs 1,100 by the CBSE and Rs 1,000 by the Police Department, Chandigarh, for winning roller skating championships. Neha Bansal, a mentally challenged girl from Rohtak, has also bagged the award for her exceptional ability in the field of sports (table tennis). She won a gold and a silver medal in doubles and singles, respectively, at Special Olympics World Summer Games held at Dublin (Ireland) in June, 2003. She won a silver medal in the table tennis (singles) and a gold medal in doubles at the state-level games for handicapped held in Bhiwani in March, 2002. She won bronze and silver medals in national-level games for handicapped held in Chandigarh in October, 2002 in singles and doubles category, respectively. Others who have bagged the awards are Gurmangeet Kaur of Haryana for exceptional talent in the field of art, studies and bravery; Mohd Moosa of Jammu and Kashmir for extraordinary talent in the field of academics and extracurricular activities; Raghav Wahi of Jammu and Kashmir for extraordinary talent in the field of sports (golf); Arnav Kamal of Jammu and Kashmir for excellence in swimming; and Mir Daniyal Masoom of Jammu and Kashmir for excellence in roller skating. |
|
Health services hit in Bihar
Patna, November 14 The minister said the perpetrators would not be spared and added that five persons, including the wife of an accused, had been arrested in connection with the doctor’s killing. He described the killing as “unfortunate, cowardly and heinous” and said the government was getting tough against criminals. Mr Prasad said the killers of the doctor had come to the clinic as patients. He appealed to the agitating doctors to call off their strike in the interest of people. The state government had made standby arrangements to provide medical facilities to patients, official sources said. The government had also sought the cooperation of the Red Cross Society to tackle the situation. Nearly 20,000 private and government doctors stayed away from work, paralysing Health services in the state, general secretary of the Bihar chapter of the Indian Medical Association Sahajanand Singh said. Emergency services too were affected due to the strike, he said. “We will further intensify our agitation if the killers are not arrested,” he said ,demanding adequate security for doctors. Dr N.K. Agrawal and his compounder were gunned down by extortionists at a private nursing home here on Saturday. Chief Minister Rabri Devi also called upon IMA leaders to end the strike “in larger interests of the state”. Laloo Prasad said notorious Bindu Singh gang was behind the killing and the police was already on the job to put the extortionists behind bars. Bindu Singh is currently lodged in judicial custody in Bhagalpur jail at present. SSP Patna N.H. Khan said he had shifted the officer-in-charge of Kadamkuan police station Pramod Kumar, who has been asked to report to the Police Lines here. Security Sergeant (Patna police) Rajendra Singh was suspended on the charge of delay in providing armed bodyguard to the slain doctor. Dr Agrawal had lodged a complaint with the Kadamkuan police apprehending threat to his life and sought armed bodyguards. According to the police, more than 15 medical practitioners of the state capital were reportedly in the hit list of the Bindu Singh gang. The BJP, JD-U and the Lok Janshakti Party have condemned the killing of the doctor and expressed their solidarity with the striking doctors. BJP national vice-president S.K. Modi said the killing of the doctor had vindicated the party’s charge that the law and order in Bihar had collapsed. He accused the RJD of “patronising criminals” and said the BJP would support the agitation of the IMA. He alleged that the state government had failed to protect the lives and property of the people. — UNI, PTI
|
|
POTA detainees continue to languish in
TN
Chennai, November 14 According to Mr K. Chandru, senior counsel for these “low-profile” detainees, barring two juveniles, who were released after judicial intervention, all will complete two years in jail in less than a week. They were arrested in Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu on November 15, 2002, for their alleged links with Naxalites while they were practising martial arts. After their bail plea was dismissed by the POTA court the present appeals were preferred. Though the appeals were admitted for hearing as early as in April, they have been shunted from one High Court Bench to another for reasons known neither to advocates nor the petitioners. Mr Chandru wondered why the High Court, which was swift in ordering medical attention to the detainees when they started an indefinite fast last month did not dispose of the pleas expeditiously. “I am at a loss to understand why the matter is adjourned from one Bench to another with no reason being expressed. I am anguished to argue before so many Benches,” he said and pointed out that at least three Benches started hearing the matter and then declined to hear further. According to the original POTA as well as the ordinance, all detainees were entitled to seek bail under normal procedures and not under POTA. The special court has not yet initiated proceedings to frame charges against the accused. |
|
AP project to link Godavari, Krishna
rivers
Hyderabad, November 14 Mr Reddy, who is determined to make a mark on the state’s agriculture sector, performed “bhoomi puja” for the right bank canal project at Polavaram in West Godavari district recently. Christened now as Indira Sagar, the proposed project, costing around Rs 8,261 crore, would help irrigate 23.20 lakh acres in Krishna, West and East Godavari,
Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts. The project would also facilitate the generation of 960 MW of power and provide water for drinking and industrial needs of Visakhapatnam city. Godavari is the largest river in south India and the second largest river in the country having a catchment area of 3,12,812 Sq Km. It has an estimated dependable yield of 3,000 TMC and the estimated allotment to Andhra Pradesh is 1480 TMC. The existing utilisation is hardly 739 tmc. Yearly, about 2880 TMC of water is going waste into the sea on an average. It has been the dream of lakhs of farmers in the uplands, lying between the Godavari and the Krishna rivers, for the past six decades to see these two rivers linked so that their parched lands would get irrigated. |
|
900 Leftists arrested for staging ‘rail roko’
Coimbatore, November 14 While 380 activists, including CPI MP K. Subbarayan and CPM, MLA, K. C. Karunakaran, were taken into custody in the city, 528 workers were arrested at nearby Tirupur and Udumalpet, the police said. The Left parties have planned the ‘rail roko’ agitation seeking the roll back of the price and also demanding Tamil Nadu government to reduce sales tax on petrol, diesel and other petroleum products. Arrests were made, when the activists assembled at commonplace, preparing to move to the railway stations, despite the police denying permission for ‘rail roko’, they said. —
PTI |
|
Anupam Kher to appear in court on Nov 17
Mumbai, November 14 Kher had sued Surjeet after the latter called him a member of the Hindutva brigade in a signed article in the party mouthpiece, People’s Democracy. |
|
Smugglers’ preferences
change with economy
Chennai, November 14 Ultimately, when they opened the box they found that instead of chocolates it contained 5,000 colour contact lenses, normally used by film stars. The seizure gave them an indication of the changing face of smuggling. "In the 1990s, before liberalisation, gold and silver were the most preferred items. Now you can legally import gold and silver. For many years electronic goods, computer hard discs, processors and mobile phones were brought in illegally. These are the things of past. Now 98.78 per cent of these are coming to India through the green channel," according to Mr C. Rajan, Commissioner of Customs, Airport and Air Cargo. The smugglers soon realised that smuggling electronic goods and mobile phones are no longer profitable and they opted for goods with larger profit margins. The duty for mobile phone is only 5 per cent and is almost nil for the computer goods. "Earlier mobile phones used to be smuggled in large numbers. On one occasion we seized hundreds of mobile phones placed inside VCD players," said one senior official. The new trend is smuggling of DVDs, VCDs of Tamil films from Malaysia, low-price watches from Bangkok, digital cameras from Singapore. Similarly, the "hawala traders" smuggle foreign and Indian currencies and star tortoises from India to Singapore and Gulf countries. Marble stones in small sizes are also smuggled. Currencies are taken to Gulf countries illegally for Indian workers and merchants. The agents who smuggle currencies earn hefty commissions for high denomination notes. Recently, Customs officials seized high denomination currencies wrapped up in Tamil newspapers. "We have informers who alert us about these consignments. This financial year, we have seized currencies worth Rs 51.95 lakh so far. In 2003-04, the amount was Rs 1.15 crore and it was Rs 71.89 lakh in 2002-03," said Mr Rajan. But the most wanted item from this region in India are the star tortoises which are in great demand in South-East Asia for their so-called medicinal value as aphrodisiacs and they are prepared as soups. |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Videos
