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Upswing in minority killings in J&K
Metro contributing to power woes of Delhi?
Final-phase voting in Bengal today
Tsunami relief dominates Nagapattinam poll
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BJP executive to meet in Delhi
Mob burns police station
Govt staff to protest from May 10
Air Chief turns skydiver
One held in torching case Mild quake in Delhi areas
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Upswing in minority killings in J&K
New Delhi, May 7 Figures available with The Tribune point out that as many as 46 persons from the minority Hindu community have been killed by terrorists in the first four months of the year, compared to 43 fatalities in the entire 2005. The striking part of the killing and terrorist strikes has been that they have all been in the region of south of Pir Panjal and none in the valley. Experts point out that there is a reason behind these acts as the Pakistan-backed terrorist outfits have been getting very little support from the inhabitants of the region. The possible reason behind the killings is to instill fear among the inhabitants and force them to either support terrorists or to migrate from the region. According to sources, the killings were carried out on specific instructions from across the border. The security forces have radio intercepts from Pakistan handlers to Pak-trained mercenaries with specific instructions of where to carry out the killings. Sources also said such attacks on minority population have always come just before an important event in the state. Last time such a big killing of Hindus was carried out was just before elections in the state and this time round it was just before Hurriyat leaders came to Delhi for talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and talks between Indian and Pakistan officials over further confidence building measures. According to figures available, while last year over 400 persons were killed by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, with Hindu casualties of 43, this year, 46 persons belonging to the community have been killed out the total 80 casualties so far, with a ratio of almost 60 per cent. Security experts are particularly peeved at the human rights organisations both within the country and abroad for not raising their concern over the killing of minority Hindus. They point out that these organisations are the first to raise their voice when security forces carry out extermination of terrorists, but have not raised their voice at such mass killings of people in minority. Besides, they point out that the killings reflect the motive of terrorists to target a particular community and not the other. This, possibly for not losing their support as they have no sympathy from those residing in the areas south of Pir Panjal. Experts say that such incidents put a question mark on the steps being initiated by the Indian Government for peace in the state. If the government believes the peace process has begun to isolate extremists then it should step on the accelerator by unveiling a range of political measures to improve the human conditions in the state, they say. Waiting further would in no way resolve the emerging tension between the peace process and continuing terrorist violence. It would only leave the Lashkar-e-Toiba in control of the situation in the region. Instead, the government must act purposefully to reinforce the peace process and at the same time go after the terrorist outfits without bothering about the human rights organisations, the experts say. |
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Metro contributing to power woes of Delhi?
New Delhi, May 7 Considering the popularity, place of pride and goodwill the user-friendly Metro enjoys, not many will like to hold the Capital’s showcase responsible for power cuts, but there is a growing feeling that among other reasons, the Metro is contributing to Delhi’s power woes in a big way. The Capital’s anticipated peak summer demand is close to 3,900 MW and by the admission of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
(DMRC), it requires three per cent of Delhi’s power requirement to run operations on the three lines. DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal says this is a very small percentage of the Capital’s total power requirement. Experts feel otherwise and say the Metro’s three per cent power consumption means an extra burden on the Capital. Three per cent of the 3,900 MW is not a small quantity, but almost 120 MW, they contend. The DMRC should have made its own arrangements and the way the largest bulk consumer of power in Delhi is going in for expansion, its requirements are going to increase, they say. The Railways has tied up with the NTPC for power generation for electrification, they add. Mr Dayal dismisses these suggestions, asserting that the Metro is not responsible for the Capital’s power problems. He says, “Our requirement is just three per cent of Delhi’s total power requirement. There is no way the Metro can have its own power generation system. The concept is neither economically viable nor practical. Nowhere in the world do metro systems have their own power generation systems. Those depend upon power distribution systems of cities for operations.” Mr Dayal adds that the DMRC has planned the Metro’s system in a technologically upto date power saving mode. He says, “If we had followed the traditional system, it would have required much more power. For two lines, we get power from distribution companies. For one line, we draw power from the Indraprastha gas turbine. In case of a complete power cut, there are invertors and generators at each station to provide ventilation and facilitate quick evacuation of passengers in case of an emergency. We have the facility to draw back-up power from the Railways.” Apart from train operations, the Metro requires power to provide facilities like escalators, lifts and lights. Mr Dayal says, “In trains, the regenerative brakes system ensures that every time a train applies brakes, 30 per cent of the power comes back to the system. The trains are designed for variable voltage and frequency. This means that if passenger load is less, energy requirement becomes less. If there are no passengers on an escalator, it automatically goes into power saving mode. We keep tunnel lights off to save power.” |
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Final-phase voting in Bengal today
Kolkata, May 7 While the entire south Bengal has been a stronghold of the CPM, the Opposition, which includes the Congress, the Trinamool Congress and some other Left partners i.e. the RSP and the Forward Bloc, have been a dominating factor in north Bengal districts. Darjeeling has been under the control of Subhas Ghising’s GNLF. Though both Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and CPM secretary Biman Bose, who is also Left front’s chairman, have concentrated on Maldafor, bringing it in their grip and allowed some of their partners to retain their respective seats in Coochbehar, Dinajpur and parts of Jalpaiguri, they have yet to make inroads into Darjeeling. Malda, which is otherwise known as “Barkatda’s district”, has been always a stronghold of the Congress. The late Ghani Khan Chowdhury, who won the Malda Lok Sabha seat for a record eight times, rebuilt the old Malda village as a modern town as well as Congress citadel even during the heyday of the Marxist Raj in Bengal. And now after his death, CPM workers in Malda, under the leadership of Mr Bhattacharjee, have launched a massive campaign to make inroads into Ghani’s fortress. At an election meeting yesterday, Mr Bhattacharjee appealed to the people to vote for the CPM and promised them to complete the “unfinished works of late ‘Barkat Saheeb’” after the election and added that only they could fulfil his dreams. Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Information Minister Priya Dasmunsi have also kept themselves busy by launching a campaign last week in north Bengal for Congress candidates and addressing several meetings in Malda and Dinajpur. In Dinajpur, Mr Dasmunsi’s wife Dipa is the Congress candidate from Goalpukur seat, while in Malda, Chowdhury’s brother and sister are contesting for the second time from two different seats, which they won in 2001 elections. Mamata Banerjee is also not sitting idle. She has addressed five election rallies in two days in Malda and Dinajpur and appealed to the Congress to fight jointly against the CPM and fulfil “Barkatda’s dream” in dislodging the Left government from power. She claimed in Malda that the Congress, the TMC and the BJP were fighting jointly against the CPM, just as Chowdhury desired. In Coochbehar district, where the Kamtapuri People’s Organisation (KLO) has given a call for a poll boycott, state Agriculture Minister Kamal Guha of the Forward Bloc, sacrificed his Dinhata seat for his son Udayan. In Jalpaiguri and Duars, CPM’s three sitting MLAs will try to retain their seats for another term. Though elections have already taken place for 245 of the 294 Assembly seats, polling on the remaining 49 seats will decide the shape of the future government in the state.
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Tsunami relief dominates Nagapattinam poll
Nagapattinam, May 7 The area accounted for 76 per cent of deaths in mainland India as the entire district was devastated in the tsunami. Around 6,500 persons lost their lives in the tsunami and thousands of crores of property was damaged while thousands were rendered homeless. Fisheries sector was the worst hit. Thousands of boats were smashed by waves and suffered irreparable damage. Precious nets of fishermen were washed away or damaged. Fisheries infrastructure like harbours and landing centres also suffered damages and this sector alone suffered a loss of Rs 479 crore. Losses to other sectors like agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, highways, trade and tourism, etc. amounted to Rs 254 crore. Though the memory of that day remains etched in the minds of people, the fishing community has bounced back. While more than 1,054 concrete houses have been built for those who lost their houses, thousands of mechanised boats have been distributed to fishermen and a huge orphanage built exclusively for “tsunami orphans”. Said Rajesh, a fisherman from the coastal Taragambadi village: “We try to forget the past. We are happy with our new houses and boats. For a few months we did not even dare venture out to the sea but now fishing is in full swing.” Asked whom the fishing community will vote for, he and his friends smiled and said: “Is there any need to answer. The writing is on the wall. After this kind of relief, how can we be ungrateful to Amma.” During the Assembly election in 2001, the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) won four out of six seats in the district, which is 350 km from the state capital. During the last Lok Sabha elections, the Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) won the two parliamentary seats in the district. However, this time the election scenario is evenly poised. Though the AIADMK has an edge because of the post-tsunami relief and rehabilitation, the political alliance between the DMK and its partners is likely to create problems for Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa. If one goes by vote bank percentage, the DMK-led Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA) is far ahead. |
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BJP executive to meet in Delhi
New Delhi, May 7 The executive was to meet in Ludhiana on May 25, 26 and 27. The executive meeting, being held after the death of BJP General Secretary Pramod Mahajan, will review the results of the Assembly elections in five states, response to the Bharat Suraksha Yatras taken out by senior party leader L.K. Advani and party President Rajnath Singh and discuss the current political situation and organisational matters, he said. Mr Javadekar said the party general secretaries’ meeting would be held on May 8, which would finalise the agenda for the May 13 office-bearers meeting and the national executive.
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Mob burns police station
Mumbai, May 7 According to the state police control room, the incident happened a little after 9 this morning, when a tanker carrying petroleum products collided with an autorickshaw. Five persons travelling in the three-wheeler died in the accident which took place at Shahapur in Thane district outside Mumbai. Following the mishap, villagers living on either side of the road descended on the highway and blocked traffic for more than three hours. Angry at the local administration not putting up enough speed breakers, the villagers then attacked and set ablaze a police chowki in the area. |
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Govt staff to protest from May 10
New Delhi, May 7 ‘Awakening Week’ would be observed throughout the country from May 10 to 15 against the non-fulfillment of commitment made by the Centre on February 15 to constitute the sixth Pay Commission, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh affiliated GENC said in a statement. “It is painful to note that more than two months period has lapsed but the government is silent on the issue of notification,” it said. As per the recommendation of the fifth Pay Commission, the sixth pay commission should have been constituted in January 2003, so that it would be in force with effect from January this year, it
added. — TNS |
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Air Chief turns skydiver
New Delhi, May 7 The Air Chief, who took to para-jumping last year, has so far carried out 15 static line ram air parajumps. After acquiring the skill, he underwent further training with the Air Force Directorate of Adventure to attempt skydiving.
— TNS |
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