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Bangladesh, Nepal going slow on terror: Pranab
Fake currency racket busted, 2 ‘ISI agents’ held
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Chandigarh, HP more accident prone: report
No panel has indicted me
yet: Tytler
Bid to lease out sick mills suffers setback
SC seeks details on relief criteria to migrants
UP Muslims seek separate quota
Naga money for Myanmarese road!
High pesticide residue in blood of Punjab farmers
Collapsed bridge in Manipur makes hole in Army claim Govt gives CBI case files My wife Dawood’s relative: Miandad PM releases Jindal’s biography
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Bangladesh, Nepal going slow on terror: Pranab
Kolkata, August 7 He stressed that both India and Nepal should jointly fight against Maoists and other extremist groups operating in the two countries. The Defence Minister was addressing a press conference after inaugurating Army's strategic broadband satellite service network — 'Mercury Flash' — at the Fort Williams. The network would enable the Army officials at Fort Williams to hold talks with their counterparts in Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kashmir through video-conferencing. Elaborating on the Maoist threat from Nepal, he said: " The Royal Nepal Army is trying to contain the Maoists. But its efforts are not effective. We hope it successfully tackles them, otherwise, the situation will go out of hand.". Mr Mukherjee said: "Maoists have a fancy idea of setting up a liberated corridor starting right from the Terai region and going through parts of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Karnataka and Maharashtra." Mr Mukherjee said India's relations with Nepal and Bangladesh were quite cordial but still India had been facing enormous problems from across the border with these two friendly countries. He alleged that neither Nepal nor Bangladesh had made any sincere attempt in dismantling the terrorist- training camps inside their respective territories. The Defence Minister said though Bangladesh had been constantly denying the existence of the terrorist-training camps, the reality was otherwise. "We have specific information with us about the large-scale presence of the ISI and some terrorist organisations inside Bangladesh, which are sheltering and training Indian terrorists of various hues," he said. |
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Fake currency racket busted, 2 ‘ISI agents’ held
Lucknow, August 7 Speaking to mediapersons, STF additional SP Vijay Bhushan said,
on a tipoff, two young boys Mobin Ansari, resident of Lumbini in Nepal, and Ashfaque Ahmad, hailing from
Gorakhpur, were arrested near KK Palace in Vikas Nagar. One hundred and thirtyseven fake Rs 500 notes totalling Rs 68,500 and bearing different series and numbers were recovered from them. Calling it the handiwork of a well-organised international racket, Mr Bhushan said the quality of printing was high and the fake notes could not be detected by the
naked eye. According to the arrested duo, this racket had been going on for some time in Nepal, Delhi and border districts of Uttar Pradesh. Approximately Rs 10 to 12 lakh had already been floated in the Indian market with the purpose to weaken the national economy. According to Mr Bhushan, the duo were to hand over the money to a Delhi-based motor-part dealer and also to a resident of Tilak Nagar
Gurdeep Singh. With the assistance of this businessman, around Rs 10 lakh had already been floated in India. But for some reason Gurdeep Singh did not turn up and the duo were nabbed by the team of the
STF. While Mr Bhushan admitted that the currency notes were originating from a embassy situated in a neighbouring
country, he said that much more evidence needed to be gathered before the loose ends
can be tied up. |
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Chandigarh, HP more accident prone: report
New Delhi, August 7 According to the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau titled “Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2002”, a total of 2,57,936 accidental deaths were reported in the country during 2002, of which 2,41,213 (93.5 per cent) deaths were caused by un-natural causes and the rest 6.5 per cent deaths (16,723) were caused by natural causes. Chandigarh (63.1 per cent) and Himachal Pradesh (27.9 per cent) have been listed on third and 14th position respectively, in the ‘More Accident Prone’ States/UT category, while Haryana (2.8 per cent), Punjab (22 per cent) and Jammu and Kashmir (20.2 per cent) have been listed under “Less Accident Prone” States/UT category. However, Himachal Pradesh (57.1 per cent) and Haryana (53.8 per cent) have been listed third and fourth, respectively, behind Nagaland (65.5 per cent) and Arunachal Pradesh (61.6 per cent) among the highly prone areas on the basis of the percentage of deaths due to road accidents (unnatural causes). Maharashtra has reported 52,639 deaths out of 2,57,936 deaths in the country during the year and continued to be the largest contributor to accidental deaths with nearly one fifth (20.4 per cent) of total such deaths in the country. On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh which is the most populous state in the country with population share of 16.2 per cent has accounted for 8.3 per cent of accidental deaths and was placed at third position after Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh (8.2 per cent) and Tamil Nadu (7.7 per cent) have also reported significant shares of deaths due to accidents during 2002. Among the states, Haryana reported a decline of 90.9 per cent (from 6641 deaths in 2001 to 606 deaths in 2002) followed by Gujarat 43.5 per cent (29,980 deaths in 2001 to 16,956 deaths in 2002) while Sikkim has shown a significant increase of 68.6 per cent from 118 deaths in 2001 to 199 deaths in 2002. In all, 4,95,361 cases of ‘un-natural accidents’ causing 2,41,213 deaths and rendering 3,82,945 persons injured, were reported during 2002. The ‘accidental deaths’ due to un-natural causes were mainly on account of ‘road accidents (33.9 per cent), poisoning (9.1 per cent), fire accident (8.7 per cent) and Drowning (8.2 per cent). The cause-wise analysis of un-natural deaths reveals that 65.5 per cent deaths in Nagaland were due to ‘road accidents’, 34.5 per cent deaths in Pondicherry were sudden deaths, 17.1 per cent deaths in Gujarat were due to ‘fire accidents’, 22.4 per cent deaths in
Goa were due to ‘drowning’ and 22.4 per cent deaths in Jammu and Kashmir were due to fire arms. |
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Sheila Didi nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
New Delhi, August 7 Born in 1928 in Kenya, Sheila Didi is a witness to turbulent times, “first in Kenya and later in India during the Partition and much later when Punjab grappled with militancy”. A nominee for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, Sheila Didi recalls her tryst with struggle for ending injustice. “We were in school and an Englishwoman who was our principal saw us put up a picture of Subhas Chandra Bose and instantly called him a namak haram (dissenter). The next day all of us of Indian origin put up pictures of Nehru and Azad along with Bose”. Activism became her middle name and Sheila Didi emerged as a front-runner whether it was seeking respect for Indian freedom fighters in South Africa or as a students’ leader during her college days in England. Having lost her son-in-law during the insurgency in Punjab, Sheila Didi along with members from Shakti Vahini travelled through villages to hold meetings to encourage peace.
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No panel has indicted me
yet: Tytler New Delhi, August 7 “Nine commissions had been set up and not one has directly or indirectly named me. When you say Congress leaders are involved and automatically my name comes because unfortunately I belong to Delhi and the whole media is centered in Delhi”, he told a news channel in reply to a question. Asked if he believed that Congress leaders had targeted him on the riots issue, Tytler said: “After 30 years of political experience, I can’t come open and speak against the party. I will make it clear to my Congress leader and nobody else.” Asked if after 21 years of the riots, the Congress had no responsibility, Tytler said: “Anybody who is guilty, how high and mighty he is, should be punished. I had said this in 1984 and I said this at least twenty times in between.”
— PTI
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Nanavati report: Badal meets leaders New Delhi, August 7 SAD chief Parkash
Singh Badal met leaders of party’s Delhi unit to discuss the strategy. Party leaders said they would wait for the report to be tabled before deciding the next course of action. However, they said the party would oppose any move to shield the guilty. Mr Sukhbir Badal alleged that the government had tried to save Congress leaders. “It looks like manipulations have been done and a clean chit given. Thousands were murdered in anti-Sikh riots and people know who are guilty,” he said.
— TNS
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Bid to lease out sick mills suffers setback
Lucknow, August 7 With the state government’s recent decision to return Hindustan Bajaj’s Rs 5 crore held as security deposit towards the deal, the two-year-long attempt of Amar Singh-led State Development Council to push through this controversial leasing out of state-owned sugar mills to a private party comes to an unceremonious end. The matter came to the Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) that also resisted the proposed deal on that very ground. The BIFR order asked for “exploring alternate means of reviving UP State Sugar Corporation Ltd by way of change of management through induction of new promoters and submit a comprehensive revival proposal”. Challenging the BIFR order, the state government had decided to move the Appellate Authority for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (AAIFR). In its decision of 8 June, the AAIFR prevented the state government from going ahead with its plans by pointing out loopholes in its lease deed. It suggested the state government to evaluate the assets of the mills and lease them out in clusters to bargain for a better price. This decision throws a virtual spanner in the State Development Council’s plans. It will now require the state government to start the leasing out exercise afresh. Getting an inkling of things to come, Bajaj Hindustan had demanded the return of the Rs 5 crores security deposit even before the formal judgment of the AAIFR came. The state government had, however, kept the decision to return the money on hold hoping for a favorable response from the AAIFR. Now a decision to the release the Hindustan Bajaj money has been
made. |
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SC seeks details on relief criteria to migrants
New Delhi, August 7 A Bench of Ms Justice Ruma Pal, Mr Justice A.R. Lakshmanan and Mr Justice S.H. Kapadia issued the direction to the Centre in view of the Jammu and Kashmir Government’s recent affidavit, which categorically stated that the 1947 migrants could not be put on the same pedestal as those who migrated from the valley after the militancy. The affidavit was filed by the state as part of its Special Leave Petition (SLP) against the J&K High Court order, directing the state government to release relief to all the migrants under the same criteria, irrespective of the region from where they have migrated. The Jammu and Kashmir Government, in its SLP, stated that it was facing difficulty in implementing the High Court’s September 2002 directive, especially in the light of the fact that substantive direction was issued by it in an interim order whereas a final judgement on a public interest litigation (PIL) has yet to come. Taking note of the affidavit, filed by the J and K Government Relief Commissioner (Migrants), stating that the 1947 situation was different as there was mass migration after partition of the country, the apex court also directed the District Magistrates in each district, especially in Jammu region, to verify whether the migrants claiming relief were genuine or not. The state government said “firstly the migrants cannot be equated on the same pedestal as that of the year 1947. There is a complete difference in the nature and circumstances of migration vis-à-vis the Kashmiri migrants and the migrants other than those from the valley.” The PIL in the High Court was filed by Kamal Goria, a General Secretary of National Panthers Party in 1999, alleging that the 1947 migrants from POK, living in districts of Poonch, Rajouri, Doda, Udhampur and other areas of Jammu region were required to be put on the same pedestal as the Kashmir Pandits, forced out of the valley in 1990 following the militancy, in respect of the grant of relief. The petitioner had said that thousands of 1947 migrants, mostly Hindus, were living in pathetic condition in these districts and the state government all these years, had not done anything for their proper settlement. The state government in its affidavit admitted that the 1990 exodus from the valley was different as it was a “consequence of the threat to life and molestation by the militants who resorted to targeted killings” of Kashmiri Pandits. An estimated population of about three lakh of Kashmiri Pandits had left the valley, with only about 7,000 left behind, the affidavit said.
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UP Muslims seek separate quota
Lucknow, August 7 The seven-member committee led by Justice Rajinder Sachar has been constituted to prepare a report on the “Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community In India’. Speaking to mediapersons at the conclusion of their four-day visit to the state capital Justice Sachar declared that the 800 representatives of Muslims, whom they met, conveyed a sense of “deprivation and insecurity”. Justice Sachar said as a vast section of the community consisted of skilled crafts persons employed in the traditional handloom and handicraft sector, the adverse impact of liberalisation on these traditional occupations had led to further marginalisation of the minority community. For example, the lock trade of Aligarh, Banarsi sari industry, power looms, brasswork and chikan work are some of the sectors that have neither attracted investments nor witnessed state intervention. Lucknow, the centre of chikanwork, did not have a minimum wage fixation for the chikankari workers who were highly exploited. They were being paid in piecemeal, pointed out a member of the committee. Participants informed the committee that access to mainstream banking financing is limited for Muslims and that loan sanction practices are discriminatory. Some participants suggested that there was a need to modify the Income Tax Act in order to make the amounts given in “Zakat” to recognised institutions by the Muslims exempt from Income Tax.
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Naga money for Myanmarese road!
Kohima, August 7 The idea of improving trade ties with Myanmar struck villagers inhabiting the Meluri area and they got together under the banner of Pochury Public Forum to give shape to their vision. The forum then collected the money and handed it over to villagers of Sapla and Benakung in
Myanmar's Leyshi subdivision to construct a road between the villages,
which will later be connected to Avankhung village on the Indian side. Sapla is only 8 km from the border and a day`s walk from villages on the Indian side. It is already a success story with its booming trade in
oranges. Each household earns almost Rs 2 Lakh Kyats per year. In the early 1980s, Indian troops had dropped supplies of oranges in Sapla and nearby villages. “It is said the villagers ate the oranges and planted the seeds, “ said Nyurhetho Pochury of
Meluri. |
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High pesticide residue in blood of Punjab farmers
New Delhi, August 7 While the two key players-the Agriculture Promotion Group (APG) and the CSE-continue to rubbish each others’ claims, now the APG, besides demanding a “thorough explanation” from the CSE, has also requested the Union Agriculture Ministry to conduct an independent inquiry into the matter. However, Mr Singhal terms the CSE findings as “nothing but sensationalising of an issue, which will affect agriculture progress in the country. “As it is, the country losses close to Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 crore every year due to the inadequate use of pesticides,” he says The
CSE, on the other hand, standing by what it published in its magazine Down to Earth (DTE), calls the issues raised by the APG in its letter to CSE Director Sunita Narain “flimsy and petty”. Talking to The Tribune, CSE Associate Director Chandra Bhushan called the pesticide industry’s reaction “a routine reaction of the industry whenever faced with uncomfortable issues and questions.” The APG, an industrial body representing over 95 to 98 per cent of the India’s agro-chemical production companies, last month accused the high-profile NGO “of creating a scare with unsubstantiated statements and incorrect conclusions to confuse the common man.” |
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Collapsed bridge in Manipur makes hole in Army claim New Delhi, August 7 Army battalions, which acted as road opening party, have been asked by the Defence Ministry to explain how the bridge was brought down at “their leisure using primitive measures, including a saw to cut down the bridge,” informed sources said. The Centre asked the Army to “secure” the highway as this road is infested by insurgent groups of the North East, including NSCN (I-M), NSCN(K) and UNLF, after the All Naga Students Association of Manipur (ANSAM) had blocked the National Highway 39 to protest Manipur Government’s decision to declare June 18 as “Integrity Day”. Manipur is connected to the rest of the country by the National Highway 39, which passes through Nagaland and higher reaches of Manipur before entering Imphal valley. The National Highway 53 connects Silchar in Assam to Imphal passing through Naga-dominated Taminglong district in Manipur. Besides the presence of insurgents, the condition of highway is bad in patches. The local Army stations informed higher-ups that the road had been cleared but the very next day the bridge over the Irang river was found collapsed. On the preliminary investigation into the collapse, it was found that the bailey bridge had been cut off with bigger hexa blades-fitted saw, which takes a lot of time. Due to plying of heavy vehicles, bridges on the National Highway 53 at Makru and Barak were damaged but were repaired by the Border Roads Organisation and opened for heavy vehicles from August 2. Further strengthening of bridges for sustained and regular movement of traffic is still continuing. The state government has reported that over 2,000 empty trucks have left Imphal on August 2 via the National Highway-53 for Jiribam-Silchar.
— PTI
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Govt gives CBI case files New Delhi, August 7 The CBI was asked by the UPA government to probe into 37 cases. The CBI has already filed a regular case to probe the alleged corruption in South African armament firm Denel’s role in securing an Indian defence deal during NDA rule.
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My wife Dawood’s relative: Miandad New Delhi, August 7 Miandad said the man, designated a global terrorist by the US, is a “distant relation” of his wife. “My wife is known to their family and they are distant relatives”, he told Tehelka newspaper in an interview, according to a release issued by the weekly. “No, never. I never thought on those lines. I was only thinking of the children and their happiness,” Miandad said.
— PTI
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PM releases Jindal’s biography New Delhi, August 7 Releasing the biography of the
industralist-politician on his 75th birth anniversary, the Prime Minister said, “Om Prakashji belongs to that rare generation of pioneering Indian enterpreneurs whose roots lay deep in the soil of mother India, but whose dreams soared high into the skies.” He said the biography ‘The Man who talked to machines — The story of Om Prakash Jindal’, narrates the story of a village boy in Haryana who went on to build a multi-billion dollar industrial empire. The book has been written by Mr Anil
Dharkar. — TNS
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Medicine shortage hits Mumbai
Mumbai, August 7 Chemists say that medicine supplies are scarce and distributors are now filling orders. “Medicines across the board are getting scarce and we have just a few days’ supplies,” says Pravin Dhedia, a chemist from North Mumbai. Apart from medicines for serious cardiac and other ailments, even over the counter drugs like aspirin and paracetemol are getting scarce. Health authorities in Mumbai have now warned people against self-medication and overdosing on drugs like
doxycyclin. |
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