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Expressway project hits roadblock
Maoists will not give up arms, says Prachanda
Terrorism in Afghanistan has PM worried
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BJP to raise Afzal issue in Parliament
Ban trading in tiger bones, China told
Jolie stalls shoot, may leave soon
Indian Express premises sealed
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Expressway project hits roadblock
Bangalore, November 18 The stage is set for another battle with NICE managing director Ashok Kheny today accusing the State Pollution Control Board of playing politics. Ashok Kheny had earlier got the go-ahead for the project from the Supreme Court that had dismissed the state government’s petition seeking it be reviewed. Refuting the claims of the board regarding violation of norms, he said the project was environment friendly and it had been cleared by a team appointed by the board itself earlier. Claiming that the firm had not encroached upon any water body, he said in fact politicians and senior bureaucrats had encroached upon land in the Gottegere tank and that he was being forced to realign the expressway to please powerful interests. Pollution Control Board Chairman H.C. Sharatchandra said in a statement if the NICE went ahead with the project it would prosecute the company under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. In an open attack on the pollution board, NICE M.D. Ashok Kheny said he had photographs to show that the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) had made layouts on water tank beds. In case of the Gottegere tank, one politician of the Janata Dal (Secular) and the BJP and a senior IAS officer had curved out plots and were now forcing him to take his expressway over the tank bed instead of circumventing it, he said. “This will take three years and delay the project further,” he added. He claimed he would reveal the names of politicians and bureaucrats who had bought “benami” properties around the NICE project and were now forcing changes on him after the completion of the first phase of the project. “Due to delays in the project, which was cleared in 1995, the project cost had increased from the original Rs 2,000 crore to Rs 3,000 crore. The firm has already invested Rs 1,000 crore on the project, but it still has to get possession of 13,000 acres of land despite directions to the state government to honour the original agreement,” he added. The firm has to be handed over 20,193 acres of land under the original agreement, but it has been given 6,900 acres only. The land is not for the 162-km expressway alone, but also for 4,000 km of the accompanying roads and four major townships, besides other infrastructure that will be created as part of the project. Mr Kheny said if the government allotted the remaining land to the company soon, the project would be completed by 2010.
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Maoists will not give up arms, says Prachanda
New Delhi, November 18 He said the Maoists would not surrender all of their arms and weapons as a stockpile of weapons was required for their own safety, the political situation was still fluid and the erstwhile Royal Nepal Army (now rechristened Nepal Army) was down but not out. In response to a question during an interaction with journalists, diplomats and academicians organised by the Observer Research Foundation, he said neither he nor his outfit had ever hobnobbed with the ISI. He said the ISI did send feelers to him several times but he ignored them. He said the two-pillar theory that Nepal needed a constitutional monarchy and a multi-party political system was faulty. He stated that Nepal did not need the former and his party stood for complete and early abolition of the monarchy. He said Nepalese Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala had threatened to resign when the Maoists conveyed to him their unwillingness to join the government and it was only after this threat that the Maoists agreed for their lower-level leadership to join the government. Bhattarai, a member of the party, said Nepal did not need an army whose strength was in six figures. “Can we take on India or China? Obviously not. Then why do we need such a large army?” he asked.
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Terrorism in Afghanistan has PM worried
New Delhi, November 18 In his address at the 2nd Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan, he said the upsurge in violence in southern and south eastern Afghanistan had not only undermined security, but also hindered development efforts of the country. "We look upon Afghanistan not only as a valued member of the South Asian fraternity, but also as our
gateway to the West," he said. The Prime Minister stressed that India's vision of prosperity was not limited to itself but encompassed the region. "I am convinced that sustained economic growth in India will have a positive impact on our neighbourhood and vice-versa," he said. Dr Manmohan Singh and Afghan President Hamid Karzai inaugurated the conference that is being attended by ministers from 18 countries. Mr Karzai described the conference as a landmark event and said a stable, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan could make an important contribution to the prosperity of the entire region. He also underlined the need for a collective fight against terrorism.
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BJP to raise Afzal issue in Parliament
New Delhi, November 18 The delegation, led by Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha L.K. Advani and consisting of BJP Deputy Leader V.K. Malhotra, Mr Santosh Kumar Gangwar and Mr B.K. Tripathi of the Biju Janata Dal, called on the Speaker ahead of the session commencing from November 22.
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Ban trading in tiger bones, China told
New Delhi, November 18 China had issued a legal notice in 1993 banning domestic trade in tiger bone. This measure also supported international efforts to stop illegal trade in tiger products and assist other tiger-range countries in saving their wild tiger populations. The American College of Traditional Medicine, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Wildlife Trust of India and WWF, are among the wildlife NGOs that have issued a joint statement before the visit of the Chinese President Hu Jintao. The statement reads, ``Wild tiger populations are recovering in a few places but most are in steep decline. Tigers now occupy 40 per cent less habitat than they did 10 years ago and only seven per cent of their historic range.'' The organisations are of the view that law enforcement efforts at present are insufficient to stop the illicit trade in tiger skins and China's great strides in reducing consumption of tiger bone for medicinal purposes are threatened by calls to reopen trade in medicinal tonics produced on tiger farms. The organisations have warned that any reopening of trade in tiger products, even on a limited basis, would open a floodgate of consumption in the world's fastest growing economy. ``The status of the tiger in the wild is now so precarious that any additional poaching pressure could jeopardise remaining tiger populations by rendering law enforcement impossible.''
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Jolie stalls shoot, may leave soon
Mumbai, November 18 The shooting of the film was stopped on Thursday when parents at the Anjuman-e-Islam school accused the star's bodyguards of physically and verbally abusing them. Three bodyguards of the actress were arrested and released on bail of Rs 25,000 each. While, the producer's Indian contacts insisted that the shooting at the school was completed and filming would move to another place, Jolie did not stir out of the Taj Mahal Hotel today. Members of her crew told waiting journalists that Jolie was bugged at the manner in which her bodyguards were arrested. The producers may shoot the movie elsewhere, journalists were told. The three bodyguards have been asked to report to the Azad Maidan police station for the next seven days. Actor Brad Pitt who is accompanying Jolie met with Mumbai Police Commissioner A.N. Roy sought to smooth frayed tempers by saying their bodyguards were not racist. The meeting which was recorded by select media outlets turned out to be a public relations fiasco for Pitt with Roy asking the actors to apologise before the media. Pitt has since appeared on television channels stating that his family was a multi-racial unit with children adopted from different countries.
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Indian Express premises sealed
New Delhi, November 18 The MCD officials sealed two buildings in the morning. After the partition of the Goenka empire, the owners of the Express Group of newspapers, the offices of the Indian Express and Financial Express, were shifted to two buildings in the Qutab Institutional area from the Express Building at Bahadurshah Zafar Marg in central Delhi a few years ago. The MCD authorities had sealed many premises in the area, including those of the Canara Bank Relief and welfare society, Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan trust floated by famed sarod player Amjad Ali Khan, Namgyal trust of the former ruler of Ladakh and Habitat India, since November 15.
— UNI
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Brad Pitt relishes paan, lassi Student hangs himself Temple insured for Rs 30 crore
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