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Munabao ready to flag off train to Pak
Railway expansion to focus on rural |
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HC pulls up Bihar Govt
New ministers heed Sonia’s advice
Quattrocchi case: Home Ministry clears letters rogatory
Instability in West Asia alarming: Pranab
Pirate held with ‘Rang de Basanti’ print
Kids on fast in protest against student’s abduction
No coalition govt in TN: DMK
SC notices to
Muttemwar, EC
Britain decries transfer of aircraft to Myanmar
Foreign contributions: deliberations held on amendment
Centre told to verify facts about MP’s citizenship
Clear mapping policy soon
Pawar lashes out at Bengal Govt for loopholes in PDS
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Munabao ready to flag off train to Pak
Munabao (India-Pakistan Border), January 30 Having changed the face of the station from “mere sand-dunes and two-three tracks” to receive international travellers, the North Western Railway is eagerly awaiting the green signal following the last round of talks between India and Pakistan on January 31. It is proposed to run the train once a week on Friday from Jodhpur. The restoration of this route is expected to reduce the distance by more than a 1000 km. The station has been developed at a cost of Rs 12 crore with investment of Rs 1.7 crore each by the Ministries of Finance and Home. The Ministry of Railway has spent Rs 7.2 crore. The distance from Munabao to zero point is 2.4 km. However, persons engaged in construction told TNS that the station being developed by Pakistan Railway is less than 100 feet from the zero point in violation of the rules laid down by the Border Management Wing of the Ministry of Home Affairs. They said that the Border Security Force men have raised this issue with the government. Passengers aboard the train would be provided mobile patrolling by BSF men along new roads laid by the Rajasthan Government along the track. Leaving no room for chance, the NW Railway has also proposed Railway Protection Force cover for the train. Unfazed by two postponements in restoring the train, the NW Railway is prepared to start the train. The Commissioner of Railway Safety, Ministry of Civil Aviation had authorised running of passenger trains up to international bounder after due inspection in December. The NW Railway has placed a print order of 5000 tickets at Ajmer. The General Manager of NW Railway, Mr S.B. Bhattacharya, told mediapersons in Jaipur that there is absolutely “no official order” on extending the train up to Ajmer. He said that the Munnabao-Khokrapar train is a strategic line that has not been developed on commercial considerations. Asked if a goods train would also run on the track till Khokrapar, Bhattacharya said, “Once you have an infrastructure, why not have it?” Bhattacharaya said that since the agreement stressed upon broadgauge interchanging between Munabao and Khokrapar, The N.W Railway had to convert existing metre gauge to broad gauge from Munabao to zero point. The NW Railway has earmarked six coaches for the train that would include four sleeper coaches and two SLR coaches. Tickets can be bought only at Jodhpur. The proposed price of the ticket is Rs 86 for unreserved coach and Rs 166 for sleeper class. As per the tentative schedule pending approval at Islamabad, the train will start every Friday at 11.30 pm to reach Munabao the next day at 7.30 am. After customs and immigration clearance, Indian passengers will board the Pakistan run train at 1.30 pm after customs and immigration clearance. Passengers from Pakistan will arrive at 12.30 pm and leave at 4.30 pm after clearance. For the initial six months, the Pakistam Railway will spare the train for the journey between Khokrapar and their station close to the border after which India will run the train. It is still not clear whether the ticket bought at Jodhpur would cover the journey till Khokrapar. Sources in NW Railway said that they were only interested in collecting fares up to the end of Indian boundary. The NW Railway has nominated two special windows for purchasing tickets only for the Thar Express. The two windows, one each for booking and reservation, will be opened only on the day of the journey. Sources in North Western Railway told TNS here that foreign tourists could purchase tickets on production of passport and visa but the permission to embark on the journey would depend on the decision of the immigration authorities. |
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Railway expansion to focus on rural areas: Lalu
Kolkata, January 30 He also assured the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, that all ongoing railway projects in the state and elsewhere would be expedited so that these could be completed within the stipulated period. He opened the newly built Chitpur terminal, renamed as the Kolkata terminal, at a function here. Mr Bhattacharjee and other leaders, including Mr Basudeb
Acharia, CPM MP and Chairman of the Railways Standing Committee, and Mr Bikash Ranjan
Bhattacharyya, Mayor, were present on the occasion. Mr Lalu Prasad flagged off a special train for New Jalpaiguri from the terminal amidst cheers and clapping by the people. Five long distance and passengers trains will run from this terminal. The number will be gradually increased to 20. Mr Lalu Prasad had brief meetings with the Chief Minister and other leaders during his short stay in the state. He sought the state government’s help in evicting trespassers from the railway land so that extension programme was not further hampered. |
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HC pulls up Bihar Govt
Patna, January 30 The two-member Bench comprising Chief Justice J.N.Bhatt and Mr Justice R.N.Prasad was responding to a PIL by People’s watch, an NGO, with regard to Jehanabad jailbreak episode by Maoists on November 13 last. Over 300 inmates of Jehanabad jail, including top Maoist leader Ajay Kanu, had escaped following from the jail. The court felt that activities of the Maoists could be checked to a great extent by forming “special cell”. The court also pulled up the state administration for its failure to act on tip-off by the Central intelligence over the possible Maoists movements in Jehanabad-Gaya area on the fateful day. The court ordered the state government to enquire whether it was a mere “administrative lapse” to act on the tip-off or there was any other “motive “ behind the same by any quarter to overlook the intelligence input. It may be recalled that soon after the jailbreak, the then Governor, Mr Buta Singh only suspended the SP of Jehanabad for security lapse for his failure to act on the intelligence input, but spared others. The court asked the state government to submit a detailed action taken report before it by March 1 during the next hearing. |
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New ministers heed Sonia’s advice
New Delhi, January 30 Those in positions of power, she said, should not neglect the workers since the government deriveD its strength from the party. The newly appointed Congress ministers appear to have taken this message quite seriously. A day after being sworn in, several ministers visited the AICC headquarters on Akbar Road, just to say hello to their party colleagues. The Tourism and Culture Minister, Ms Ambika Soni, who doubled as AICC General Secretary and media department chief, dropped in briefly, had tea with AICC Treasurer Motilal Vora and spent some time in her room, chatting with presspersons and other party colleagues. The new Ministers of State Subirammi Reddy, Palam Raju (defence) and Akhilesh Das (steel) also put in a brief appearance at the party office. They sought “blessings” from seniors like Mr Vora and AICC General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi and promised that they would not forget the party despite their heavy schedule in their respective ministries. Mrs Ambika Soni, whose association with the party dates back to the sixties, has been the high-profileest AICC General Secretary, having held the post for the last eight years. Her room was a hub of activity as it was the first stop for both mediapersons, looking for the day’s story, and party workers who travelled long distances to share their problems and vent their grievances. AICC office-bearers remarked that the office would certainly not be the same without her.
In fact, Jayanti Natrajan and Rajiv Shukla, her colleagues in the media department, looked quite woebegone when they held their morning meeting today without Mrs
Soni. “We will certainly miss her”, remarked Mrs Natrajan.
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Quattrocchi case: Home Ministry clears letters rogatory
New Delhi, January 30 After the Home Ministry clearance, the letters were being sent by the External Affairs Ministry to Switzerland through diplomatic channel. The CBI approached Switzerland formally to provide the details as the the funds were transferred from Lugano in Switzerland to London’s BSIAG Bank. Though the money, which had remained frozen for more than two years, was released recently after the government told the British Crown Prosecution Service that it did not have any evidence to link the money in the London bank
accounts to the kickback paid relating to Bofors
guns. — PTI
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Instability in West Asia alarming: Pranab
New Delhi, January 30 Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee while inaugurating the third Asian Security Conference on the theme of “Changing Security Dynamics in West Asia" said the ongoing turbulence in West Asia will have major impact on global security. In an apparent reference to the developments in Iraq and Palestine, the Defence Minister said the rising constituency of radical religious groups threatening to assert their subversive strength against the states will continue to be of great concern to the international community. He said continued instability in Iraq could have dangerous consequences for peace and well being and suggested that international community should cooperate with one another in bringing lasting security to the region. The changing security dynamics in West Asia particularly post 9/11 formed the main theme of a Asian security dialogue initiated by the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis
(IDSA) in which the Minister was the main speaker. With radical Islamic group Hamas putting up a strong showing in Palestinian Parliament elections, he said India supported Gaza disengagement between the Palestinians and Israelis and was looking forward to progress in the peace process within a reasonable timeframe. He said India was ready to join efforts made by the international community for capacity building of the Palestinian people and for strengthening their democratic institutions.
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Pirate held with ‘Rang de Basanti’ print
Mumbai, January 30 Khan was arrested on Saturday when he arrived at the city airport from Delhi carrying a master print of “Rang De Basanti” for onward transportation to Pakistan from Dubai, the police said. Khan is said to be part of the Dawood Ibrahim gang that owns the Pakistan-based Sadaf Video which deals in pirated Bollywood films in a big way. Sadaf Video distributes pirated Indian films in the Middle East and among the vast Indian diaspora worldwide causing huge losses to film makers. According to the police, people like Khan usually arm twist film distributors and theatre owners to part with film reels for illegal copying. The movies are pirated while being transported to theatres and the pirated CDs are usually out in circulation even before the release of the film officially. However, trade reports say the arrest of Khan has put a halt to the distribution of Rang De
Basanti. |
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Kids on fast in protest against student’s abduction
Patna, January 30 The students protested against the unabated abduction cases with schoolchildren being the major victims despite a change of guard in the state. The police has remained clueless about the gangs involved in the abduction of Nirmalendu even after 14 days. A group of students of the school sat on fast at the Don Bosco school campus at the initiative of a local NGO to force the police not only for the release of Nirmalendu, but also to stop abductions for once and all. Nirmalendu, son of a former joint director of the State Animal Husbandry Department and accused in the multi-crore-fodder scam case, Mr O P Diwakar, was kidnapped on his way to school on January 17. The victim is also a close relative of the former minister and RJD leader Shyam Rajak. The SSP, Patna, Mr Kundan Krishnan, said that raids were being conducted at various places and hoped Nirmalendu would be released soon. |
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No coalition govt in TN: DMK
Chennai, January 30 He said none of the DPA constituents had favoured it and that no party in the alliance “neither desired nor spoke” in favour of a coalition government in the state. Mr Karunanidhi said that Congress Working Committee member, Mr Veerappa
Moily, in charge of Tamil Nadu, who met him, recently, also did not speak about coalition. The DMK needs to win at least 118 seats out of 234 in the State Assembly to form a government on its own. He said the DMK’s election manifesto would be released at the party’s three-day conference at Tiruchirapalli from March 3 and would be addressed by Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Mr Karunanidhi said talks over seat sharing among the DPA partners would be held only after the election dates were announced. He ruled any fissures with the alliance and reiterated that Mr Vaiko’s MDMK was very much a part of the alliance. He said, “I hope to announce the number of seats to be contested by the parties in the alliance during our party conference,” and added that more parties would be included in the alliance. He said there would be no common election manifesto for the DPA for the Assembly polls. “It has been the practice to release separate manifestos by each party for the polls”, he said. |
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SC notices to
Muttemwar, EC
New Delhi, January 30 Taking cognisance of the election appeal of former MP Banwarilal Purohit, who had lost the 2004 election to Muttemwar, a Bench of Mr Justice K G Balakrishnan and Mr Justice P P Naolekar issued notices to the Minister and the Election Commission, seeking their replies. Muttemwar, who holds the portfolio of Non-Conventional Energy Sources as a Minister of State, was elected from Nagpur constituency. The court also issued notice to the Nagpur District Collector in the capacity of Returning Officer. |
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Britain decries transfer of aircraft to Myanmar
New Delhi, January 30 Britain’s High Commissioner Michael Arthur, while talking on the sidelines of India-UK Defence Industry seminar, said the European Union guidelines “precluded” the sale of military equipment to Myanmar. If India went ahead with its plans to sell any of the British-origin Britain-Norman Islander aircraft operated by its navy to Myanmar, this would have “a knock-on effect on the sale of spares” for the aircraft, Mr Arthur said. The British Government had taken up the issue with India’s External Affairs Ministry earlier this month. |
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Foreign contributions: deliberations
New Delhi, January 30 The GoM, headed by Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, is keen on ensuring adequate control, along with ensuring transparency of foreign contribution. Thus today it met to deliberate on the amendment to be brought into the old Foreign Exchange Regulation Act to plug the loopholes, a Home Ministry spokesperson said. Other members of the GoM are Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Tribal Affairs and Development of North East Minister K.R.
Kyndiah, Law Minister H.R. Bharadwaj, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal and Minister for Overseas Indians Affairs Vayalar Ravi. |
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Centre told to verify facts about MP’s citizenship
New Delhi, January 30 A petition had been filed in the apex court earlier, seeking to probe his citizenship alleging that he was a Nepalese national and had acquired the Indian citizenship “illegally” despite being convicted in that country. A Bench of Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal, Mr Justice C K Thakker and Mr Justice R V Raveendran directed the Union Government to ascertain the facts about Subba. The interim direction came after the court had earlier issued notice to the Centre, the MP after the petition was filed against him a year ago by Brendra Nath Singh for CBI probe how he got the Indian citizenship. |
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Clear mapping policy soon
New Delhi, January 30 Inaugurating a geographic information technology conference “Map India 2006”, Union Minister for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal said today that the new mapping policy and guidelines would help initiate the implementation of the national spatial data infrastructure (NSDI), which would help the growth of geo-spatial activities in the country. The NSDI, a joint initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and the Department of Space, will facilitate the availability of geo-spatial data like roads, schools, health centres and tourism spots. There would be two series of maps, one for defence and the other for civilians, Mr Sibal said. |
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Pawar lashes out at Bengal Govt
Kolkata, January 30 Talking to mediapersons here today, Mr Pawar expressed concern over detection of several lakhs of fake ration cards in the state on the eve of Assembly polls. He regretted that the Centre had been spending crores of rupees by providing rice, wheat and other commodities at subsidised rates for the poor and weaker sections of society through rationing system, but unfortunately these commodities were going to non-eligible persons. He asked the states to look into the matter and bring the culprits to book. In reply to a question, Mr Pawar, who is also BCCI president, denied that he had played any role in the inclusion of Sourav Ganguly in the team in the Pakistan Test. |
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