Mumbai, June 7
At least one person was killed and several injured as the southwest monsoons arrived in western India ahead of schedule throwing life out of gear across the region.

After vacillating all morning, the Met Department announced later today that monsoons had indeed set in across Mumbai, parts of Maharashtra, the Konkan region and Goa.

According to sources, one person died after the wall of his shanty collapsed in suburban Andheri in the early hours today. It had been raining incessantly since Friday night.

As heavy rains lashed the city and the suburbs, the weather department today issued a warning to fishermen asking them not to venture into the sea.

According to the police control room, parts of Mumbai were waterlogged as heavy rains coincided with high tide. On Friday, low-lying areas in Juhu in suburban Mumbai were flooded. The residences of prominent movie stars and actors had a few inches of water.

Bus and train services were disrupted as well due to water logging. According to a Central Railway spokesperson, trains on the Harbour Branch were running late. A few outstation trains connecting Mumbai to Northern India are also running late, according to the Western Railways.

The rains have also affected flights to and from Mumbai. According to various airlines, heavy rains have resulted in delays by a few minutes though there have been no cancellation of flights yet. However two Kingfisher flights-Kolkata-Mumbai and Delhi-Mumbai- were diverted late on Friday night.

The Met Department has warned that Mumbai would experience heavy to very heavy rains for the next 24 hours accompanied by thunder and lightening.

New Delhi, June 7
Long after Nithari case, the child rights record of Uttar Pradesh continues to be dismal. Even as court proceedings in the Nithari killings are on, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) yesterday wrote to the UP government, demanding details of missing children from every district of the state.

The commission’s communication comes close on the heels of concrete evidence about the disappearance of over 50 children from Noida and Ghaziabad in the past two months. “We are alarmed at the state of affairs, and want to track the issue. We have written to the DGP of UP, asking for the list of every such case. If two districts are exhibiting such dangerous trend, what would the overall situation be?” wondered Sandhya Bajaj, member of the commission, which is desperate to address the issue of missing children.

The Uttar Pradesh government has not cared to set up juvenile justice boards in all its districts - an issue which the ministry of women and child development (WCD) is taking very seriously. Only 17 of the 71 districts in the state have juvenile justice boards, which are mandatory to be established in every district. What’s worse is that UP has eight child welfare committees whereas it should have 71 for every district.

The child rights commission, in a stern reminder to the state government, has asked it to set up boards as per the provisions of Juvenile Justice Act. “When we raised the issue with the state, we were told that district collectors would be authorised to take care of juvenile justice issues till the time the juvenile justice boards are established. But no such powers have yet been delegated,” noted commission members.

Even as UP strives to improve its child rights track record, the ministry of WCD is planning a review of the Juvenile Justice Act, which, it believes, is little understood. Another pressing agenda at hand relates to juvenile justice boards and whether they are, at all, existent in states across India.

Guwahati, June 7
The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) today suspended the arrested former state education minister Ripun Bora from the primary membership of the party in the wake of his arrest by the CBI on bribery charge earlier this week.

APCC president and Rajya Sabha MP Bhubaneswar Kalita informed that the sacked minister was suspended from the party after the AICC gave the approval for it. The AICC approval was required as Bora was a member of the AICC.

“The Congress is a party that has stood by its ideology and democratic tradition, not by any individual,” the APCC president said, informing that tainted Bora had been suspended for unspecified period till further order.

Kalita declined to comment on reported remarks made by the former minister before the media in New Delhi that he had become the victim of a conspiracy hatched by his opponents within the party.

The CBI arrested Bora on Tuesday on the charge of offering bribe to one of its officials to influence the probe into the murder of Assam tea tribe student leader Daniel Topno. The murder took place on September 27, 2000.

The CBI alleged that Bora, in his bid to wriggle out of the probe against him, tried to bribe DSP, CBI, A.B. Gupta, who was probing whether Bora had any role in the murder. Bora was sacked from the Assam council of ministers hours after his arrest.

Guwahati, June 7
The Asom Gana Pasrishad (AGP) and all Left parties in Assam have called for a 12-hour Assam bandh on June 9 in protest against the UPA government’s decision to hike prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas.

The AGP and the Left parties, while condemning the Central government’s decision, said the increase in the prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas would have a spiralling effect on the high prices of essential commodities in Assam and other northeastern states, which had to import most of the essential commodities by road from outside the region.

The political parties demanded an immediate rollback in fuel prices.

Earlier, the Congress-led government in Assam in response to the call from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had cut sales tax on petrol and diesel by Re 1 per litre. The rate of sales tax on petrol in Assam is over 25 per cent and on diesel it is over 13 per cent.

Meanwhile, prices of all essential items were increased by on an average 15 per cent yesterday by the wholesale traders in Fancy Bazaar here. 

New Delhi, June 7
On the heels of diesel price hike, the All-India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), the apex body of truckers across the country, today threatened to go on a nationwide strike from July 2 if the government does not meet their demands.

The demands of the truckers’ body include removal of ad valorem taxes levied on diesel, AIMTC president Charan Singh Lohara said after a management committee meeting here. Also they are demanding that toll taxes on old highways, where recoveries have already been made, should be removed.

“We have a series of demands and will be submitting a memorandum to the government on Monday. If these demands are not met by June 30, we will go ahead with a nationwide strike from July 2,” Lohara said.

He also said on roads constructed under the build, operate and transfer model, where the private parties have already made recoveries, toll taxes should also be withdrawn.

Lohara also said for new roads, the government should form a committee where truckers’ body should also be made a party.

The AIMTC also demanded the removal of speed governors at highways, which set speed limit at 60 km considering the government was going ahead with construction of expressways.

Service tax that has been imposed on transporters since 2004 should be removed, Lohara said. — PTI

New Delhi, June 7
Responding to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s call for austerity measures, three more ministers today joined their colleagues in cancelling their cancelled foreign trips. The ministers include overseas Indians affairs minister Vayalar Ravi, minister of state for HRD Purandeshwari and science and technology minister Kapil Sibal.

Ravi was to embark on a 11-day tour on a 11-day tour of the US and Canada, which included visits to Houston, Vancouver and New York from June 10 while Purandeshwari was scheduled to visit Canada from June 14 to June 19.

Sibal, who was to go on a three-nation foreign tour in two stages - from June 9 to June 17 and June 19 to June 23 - has cancelled the second part. While Sibal will travel to Edinburgh, Boston and Toronto as scheduled between June 9 and June 17, the second part of the tour from June 19 to June 23, which includes visits to San Diego and Vancouver, stand cancelled.

According to officials, calling off the tour to Edinburgh, Boston and Toronto would have led to international embarrassment as it included meetings with Canadian ministers. However, the minister decided to cancel the second part of the tour during which he was to visit San Diego for attending a biotechnology summit and some official business in Vancouver.

Union ministers Ambika Soni, P. Chidambaram, Murli Deora and T. R. Baalu had cancelled their foreign tours yesterday. The Prime Minister had asked his ministerial colleagues to observe austerity to help cut down the mounting pressure on government finances caused by the Burgeoning Energy Import Bill in the wake of rising international crude prices.

Dehra Dun, June 7
With trio of the Army Aviation Corps choppers showering flower petals, 621 cadets crossed the ‘Antim Pagh’ (final step) to the Chetwode Hall to become officers at an impressive passing out parade ceremony held at the prestigious Indian Military Academy, here today. In Army tradition, the passing out parade unfolded the ceremonial turn out of the outgoing cadets, reviewed by chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major, among other well decorated defence personnel.

From total of 621 gentlemen cadets, 409 were from the regular course, while 32 from technical graduates course, 14 from SCO, 77 from TES, 76 from UES and 13 from friendly foreign countries. Of the newly-commissioned officers, 8 were from Bhutan, two each from Mauritius and Nepal and one form Kazakhstan.

In his address to the newly commissioned officers, Fali Homi Major said, “Today you have entered the finest and noblest profession of military leadership." The three qualities - honour, character and competence are "absolutely essential" for the officers, Homi said.

The parents of the commissioned officers shared their proud moment at the pipping ceremony by pinning up the stars on their shoulders. The oath taking ceremony was held in the presence of the Reviewing Officer and Commandant of the IMA.

Meanwhile, senior Under Officer Rudra Pratap Singh Rana has won the “Sword of Honour” and the silver medal. The gold and bronze medal was won by Academy Under Officer Vaibhav Sinha and Battalion Under Officer Ajeev Ranjeev Mathews, respectively. The technical graduate course silver medal was awarded to junior Under Officer Kanishka Singh Siwach, while TES silver medal went to Wing Cadet Quartermaster Rahul Yadev. The chief of the Army Staff’s Banner was awarded to Basanter Company.

New Delhi, June 7
The South Asia Media Commission (SAMC) today condemned the attack by a mob on the residence of Loksatta editor Kumar Ketkar in Mumbai and demanded that the police should investigate the incident without fear or favour and take action against the guilty.

Ketkar’s residence was attacked on Thursday following an editorial in the Marathi daily criticising the Maharashtra government’s decision to install a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji off Marine Drive in the Arabian Sea.

“Journalists and newspapers have a democratic and constitutionally guaranteed right to freely express their views on every topic under the sun. Those who don’t like these views have the right to criticise them and differ from them through constitutional and peaceful means, for example by writing letters to the editor,” N. Ram and Nihal Singh of the the SAMC said in a statement.

Competitive chauvinism and intolerance were a serious threat to media freedom and freedom of expression, which was growingly menaced in this region by the belief in various quarters that the news media could be threatened and brow-beaten into silence by strong-arm methods and violence, misuse of the law, or abuse of political power, it added.

The statement said the safety of journalists has become a critical issue across the countries of South Asia.

“The SAMC demands that the attack on the Ketkar residence be investigated by the police without fear or favour and action taken against the law-breakers. It calls on the Maharashtra government to ensure the safety of journalists and safeguard freedom of expression and the rule of law,” the statement added.

New Delhi, June 7
Two new Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) are likely to start from the current academic year 2008-09.

The new IITs will come up in Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

“We are seriously considering both proposals,” said a highly placed source in the HRD ministry.

“For Himachal Pradesh we may go for Hamirpur. However, for Madhya Pradesh there is little technical hurdle but that can be worked out.” On May 30, the ministry had finalised three IITs in Orissa, Punjab and Gujarat. They are in addition to the ones coming up in Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar.

Each IIT will have 120 seats, the source said.

The mentor IITs for Punjab will be Delhi IIT, while for Gujarat it will be IIT Mumbai and for Orissa it is Kharagpur IIT. For Himachal Pradesh, the mentor IIT will be Roorkee.

Mumbai IIT was supposed to mentor Madhya Pradesh IIT, but it expressed its inability.

"It is true that Mumbai IIT has expressed its inability to mentor Madhya Pradesh IIT because it has the responsibility of mentoring IIT Gujarat besides managing its own centre. So the difficulty is there but we are trying to work it out," said a senior official in the ministry. — PTI

New Delhi, June 7
The BJP today reacted sharply to the finance minister’s charge that the Atal Bihari Vajpayee led NDA regime was responsible for fiscal mismanagement and low growth during its six years term, saying the arguments given by P. Chidambaram were factually incorrect, misleading and distorted.

BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said Chidambaram had not done his home work properly and sought to divert attention from the failures of the UPA government on different fronts, especially in the management of economy.

Prasad said the finance minister’s statement was not only factually incorrect but presented him in a poor light when it was contrasted with the way he himself had praised the economic performance of the NDA government in his Budget speech and economic sprepared by the UPA regime.

Chidamabaram, in a statement on his website yesterday, had lambasted the BJP for opposing the government for the sake of Opposition while not giving any concrete suggestion to moderate inflation, which has soared to an unprecedented level in recent days.

Guwahati, June 7
Even as the ruling Congress has resorted to counter attacks against opposition political parties that have demanded ouster of the Tarun Gogoi government following the arrest of its former education minister Ripun Bora, a murder accused, on bribery charge, the state youth wing of the BJP today termed Gogoi as “the kingpin of a gang of criminals”.

The main opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), too, has flayed the Chief Minister and the Congress for resorting to mudslinging to divert the attention of the people from the embarrassing arrest of senior minister Ripun Bora by the CBI in New Delhi.

AGP president Brindabon Goswami stated that the Chief Minister should have avoided giving a ministerial berth that too of revered education portfolio to Ripun Bora, who is accused of murdering tea tribe youth leader Daniel Topno.

The AGP leader said the Chief Minister had included in his ministry few other persons accused in different criminal cases. “It is time for Gogoi to give an explanation before the people of Assam,” the AGP leader said.

State unit president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuba Morcha (BJYM) Dilip Saikia today provided the media here with a list of members of the current Assam ministry against whom criminal cases had been registered. The BJYM gave details of cases pending against sacked education minister Ripun Bora, health minister Himanta Bishwa Sharma, excise minister Gautom Roy and agriculture minister Promila Rani Brahma.

Two separate cases under the TADA and Arms Act had been registered against Himanta Bishwa Sharma way back in 1991 on the charges of extortion on behalf of the banned ULFA and possessing illegal firearms. He was then a student leader.

Gautom Roy’s name figured in the list of doubtful persons who might have been involved in the abduction and murder of Pratul Dev, a businessman and a BJP leader from South Assam.

Two TADA cases (No 61/1995 and 38/1994) were registered against Promila Rani Brahma, now agriculture minister in Gogoi cabinet and a member of the Congress ally, the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), a political party formed by former members of the now disbanded Bodo Liberation Tiger (BLT). The cases pending in the TADA court were later withdrawn by the Assam government in 2005.

However, the Congress government has been maintaining that none of these ministers was convicted in any of the cases registered against them.

BRIEFLY

CBSE declares pre-medical, pre-dental results
New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Saturday declare the result of the all-India pre-medical/pre-dental entrance examination. The examination was held in two stages preliminary and final examination. Out of the 1,61,230 candidates registered for the preliminary examination 22,014 candidates qualified for the final examination, a release said. The first round of counselling will begin from June 13. — PTI

PM to address N-conference
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate here on Monday a two-day conference on nuclear disarmament, during which he is likely to speak at length on the current status of the Indo-US nuclear deal. Experts from several countries, including the US, UK, Russia, Japan, Australia and China are expected to participate in the International Conference on Nuclear Weapons Free World. — TNS

Schools as info hubs
MUSSOORIE: Teachers, social activists and officials from 10 states came up with the idea that village-level government schools should serve as "village information kiosks," at a three-day workshop, which concluded here on Friday. As many as 180 teachers and officials of education departments from 10 states participated. — TNS

GCs to be computer savvy
DEHRA DUN: The IMA Commandant, Lt Gen P.K.Rampal, has said the the academy plans to provide computers to Gentlemen Cadets (GCs) in order to make them computer savvy. Addressing a press conference at Chetwode Hall here on Thursday evening, Rampal said computer training had become an essential part of the training and computers would be provided to every GC in his room in the next two years. — TNS

Techies held for kidnapping
BANGALORE: A six-member gang, including three techies, who had been allegedly kidnapping their counterparts for ransom, was arrested here on Friday. Two cars, weapons, Rs 4 lakh cash, six mobile phones and fake explosive devices were seized from the arrested, who included two engineering graduates. — PTI

Red Ribbon Express
PUDUCHERRY: The Red Ribbon Express, an initiative to spread awareness on HIV/AIDS arrived here on Friday. Inaugurating a programme undertaken by the Puducherry AIDS Control Society here, Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangaswamy called upon scientists to strive to invent a medicine for AIDS by taking advantage of the scientific developments in the country. Puducherry was the 100th station for the train, which would travel 9,000 km during the year. — UNI