New Delhi, July 17
While the UPA government’s future hangs in a balance, there is no such uncertainty about the fate of the controversial Indo-US nuclear agreement.

Irrespective of how the UPA government fares in the crucial July 22 trust vote in Parliament, work on the deal is expected to continue unhindered as the ruling coalition is moving speedily to finalise the India-specific safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). UPA sources confirmed that once this safeguards agreement was approved, the deal would then be on autopilot as the US administration had promised to see it through the next stage of getting it past the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group.

Having secured the nuke deal’s survival, the UPA government is now working hard on its own survival. The battle is hotting up as political parties on either side of the divide are privately admitting to poaching each other’s MPs while wooing the undecided smaller parties and independent members.

If the BJP leaders are openly talking of touching base with disgruntled Congress MPs in Karnataka, the Congress is saying that it has also contacted BJP MPs in Madhya Pradesh, who are being denied tickets in the next Lok Sabha elections.

As the July 22 trust vote promises to be a tight race, both the NDA and the UPA are making simultaneous efforts to keep their flock intact and add to their numbers by wooing the 22 MPs, who have yet to indicate their preference.

The chief ministers belonging to the two camps are going to be camping here over the weekend, keeping a watchful eye on the MPs from their respective states. Congress MPs, who have been instructed to reach the Capital by Saturday, will be meeting party president Sonia Gandhi in batches the same day while Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is hosting a dinner for all UPA MPs on Sunday.

Preparations for the two-day debate are in full swing. It was stated that besides Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who will be moving the confidence motion, other Cabinet ministers slated to participate in the discussion include Pranab Mukherjee, P.Chidambaram, Shivraj Patil, Kamal Nath, Kapil Sibal and Jyotiraditya Scindia. Amethi MP Rahul Gandhi, who has come out in strong defence of the nuke deal, is also likely to participate.

Looking a picture of confidence, Parliamentary affairs minister Vyalar Ravi, discounted reports about desertions from the Congress ranks, stating, ”The UPA is intact and we are sure we will get a comfortable majority.” Efforts are also on to the woo “undecided” leaders Ajit Singh of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), Deve Gowda of the Janata Dal (S) and Shibu Soren of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha whose parties account for 10 MPs.

Chandigarh, July 17
There has been much uproar over the vote of confidence for several days, but no one is talking about problems nuclear energy brings with it, especially management of nuclear waste, says a senior environment scientist.

On the condition of anonymity, he says though the world is talking about a pollution-free world and green projects, a majority of the developed countries, including the USA and Canada, are continuing to grapple with the problem of long-term management of nuclear waste.

Both the US and Canada have huge territories, including wastelands, which they can use for nuclear waste, yet no concrete work has been done there so far. Only recently, US president George Bush named Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the national deposit site. On May 8, 2002, the US Congress supported the president’s choice.

Canada has 22 CANDU reactors of which 20 belong to Ontario Power Generation Inc. As of today, he says, Canada is yet to take final decision on long-term management of its nuclear waste. The aboriginal Indians have been in continuous negotiation with the government over the location of a national repository of nuclear waste.

Compared to the US and Canada, India’s high density of population and shrinking available territory may make it difficult to locate acceptable geological deep deposit sites for nuclear waste, he adds.

Used nuclear fuel or nuclear fuel waste is a byproduct of the generation of electricity by nuclear power plants - CANDU plants. After a bundle of fuel pellets has been used to generate electricity, it is removed from the reactor and dumped as waste.

Unless the nuclear waste is properly managed, it can be hazardous to environment and human habitation.

The Canadian government website says there are 1.5 million used fuel bundles currently in storage there. In 35 years, the used fuel bundles, if stacked end to end, would fill a soccer field to a height of 1.3 metres, adds the website.

Conventionally, once the used fuel pellets are removed from the reactor, they are generally stored for 10 years on the power plant site in water-filled pools to cool and shield them till radioactivity is considerably reduced. Subsequently, these are shifted to dry storage containers which have life of 50 years. Though these pellets are considered to have low radiation, these still are hazardous.

People living in the periphery of nuclear plants have often been making representations asking the government to locate nuclear waste management sites in areas that are safe for population.

Debates over the years have still not solved the problem. The US took the decision on the deposit site only six years ago, while Canada is still to decide. Finland has also chosen a geological site.

“It is important the country and the states supporting the nuclear deal should also decide about location of nuclear waste, both for the short and long term, so as to take appropriate care of health, environment, safety and security aspects of not only the population but also the territories,” he adds.

Some years ago, when Punjab was considering a nuclear power plant at Chamkaur Sahib, near Chandigarh, the project got shelved because of the concerns over nuclear waste management. Punjab even talked about locating its nuclear power plant in Rajasthan because of its vast territory.

New Delhi, July 17
Presenting a picture of unity in the wake of reports that there was division within the Shiromani Akali Dal over the trust vote, the NDA chief ministers today firmly assured BJP leader L.K. Advani that they would leave no stone unturned in ensuring the defeat of the Manmohan Singh government on the floor of the Lok Sabha on July 21-22.

“This anti-people government must be defeated in the floor test…the sooner it goes, the better for the country,” NDA spokesman Arun Jaitley told reporters after a meeting of the NDA chief ministers at the Advani residence this evening. He said all NDA constituents were united and there was no division in its ranks.

The chief ministers of all NDA ruled states, except those of Karnataka and Rajasthan, attended the nearly two-hour long meeting.

On the SAD’s decision to vote against the government but not issue a whip to its members, Jaitley said Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had emphatically stated at the meeting that his party had never supported the Congress and it was an integral part of the NDA. “Badal told the meeting that every Akali Dal member would attend the Lok Sabha and vote against the UPA,” Jaitley added.

Asked why the SAD was not issuing the whip, the NDA spokesperson said Badal was a seasoned leader and his words should be taken seriously.

The meeting discussed the current political situation and felt that the Manmohan Singh government was drifting on all fronts. “The entire country is exasperated with the UPA…it is a government of contradictions. The leadership has miserably failed. The government will lose this vote of confidence,” Jaitley said.

He refused to predict how many MPs would vote against the UPA, saying besides the NDA there were parties ranged against the government

Asked about the NDA’s position on the issue of Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee continuing in office, he said this issue was not discussed at the meeting.

On Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s remark that there were several young BJP MPs who supported the nuclear deal, Jaitley shot back “is he suggesting a secret ballot …is the Congress ready for a secret ballot.?”

All NDA MPs would meet here on July 20, a day before the trust vote in the Lok Sabha, to finalise their strategy for the Parliament session. The constituents of the NDA would also hold separate meetings.

Meanwhile, Harish Nagpal, an Independent member from Amroha in Uttar Pradesh, today met BJP president Rajnath Singh and assured him that he would vote against the UPA government in the trial of strength..

BJP vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu alleged that the Congress was using all unethical means, including money and state power, to win over MPs of smaller parties and Independents.

New Delhi, July 17
In a politically significant decision ahead of the July 22 trust vote, the government today approved the naming of the Lucknow airport as “Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport” after late Prime Minister Charan Singh, father of Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh.

While the effort is being termed as part of the ongoing attempts to woo Ajit Singh, the ruling coalition justified the change calling it “a part of routine proposal pending with the Cabinet”.

The RLD has three MPs in the Lok Sabha and its support to the UPA is crucial in the confidence vote. Incidentally, Ajit singh reacted to the decision saying he was happy with it though it had come late.

As per finance minister P. Chidambaram, the decision to name the airport as Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport was taken to honour the sentiments of people as it was a befitting tribute to the late Prime Minister. On timing of the decision ahead of the trust vote, he said the request from the Uttar Pradesh government had been pending for quite some time.

The Lucknow airport belongs to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and has a terminal building with capacity to handle 500 passengers.

The existing runway at the Lucknow airport is suitable for operation up to A-300 class of aircraft. Besides domestic flights, limited international operations also take place from this airport. For this purpose, the Lucknow airport has also been notified as a “customs airport”.

The normal practice with the AAI has been to retain the name of the city, which it serves, for the airport, as it is helpful to tourists, especially foreign tourists. However, in the past some airports in important cities have been renamed with the approval of the Cabinet after eminent personalities belonging to the area.

These include Ahmedabad airport as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Patna airport as Jai Prakash Narayan Airport, at old Hyderabad airport the renovated and expanded old building terminal as N.T. Rama Rao Terminal and the terminal building as Rajiv Gandhi Terminal, Udaipur airport as Maharana Pratap Airport, Bhubaneshwar airport as Biju Patnaik Airport, Guwahati airport as Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Airport, Ranchi airport as Birsa Munda Airport, Indore airport as Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport, Port Blair Airport, Bhopal airport and Gwalior Civil Air Terminal as Veer Savarkar Airport, Raja Bhoj Airport and Rajmata Vijayayraje Schindia Terminal, respectively. The New Greenfield airport at Shamshabad near Hyderabad has been renamed as Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Nagpur airport as Dr Babasahed Ambedkar International Airport, Nagpur, Leh airport as Kushok Bakula Rimpochhe Airport, Leh, Varanasi airport as Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport.

Besides, there are also cases of international airports -Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, Chattrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata, and Anna International Terminal and Kamraj Domestic Terminal at Chennai airport. 

Nellore, July 17
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi today dedicated to the nation the Krishnapatnam port, which is poised to be the largest port in India. Close to Nellore, where Sonia earlier addressed a mammoth public rally, the port has been conceived as a deep water and high productivity port to meet the growing demands in the wake of developing international trade.

In the first phase of the project, the port has four berths and a 14-metre deep channel, which was completed over a period of 18 months at a cost of about Rs 1,200 crore. Developers of the port say once ready to operate, it will be the biggest container terminal in India. The capacity is being estimated at two lakh containers in the first year of operation and eventually over four lakh containers.

In the second phase of the port, which is well connected with the road (through the National Highway-5) and also to two ports, Chennai and Tirupati, the port will have additional seven berths in the second phase. This will enhance its handling capacity to 60 million tonne per annum. The port is being developed as the biggest port in Andhra Pradesh after Vishakapatnam and Kakinada ports.

Over the next five years the port will be in a position to handle 100 million tonnes, with its capacity enhancement by about 41 berths. Additionally, it will also handle iron ore, coal and general cargo. In phase one, the capacity to handle iron ore will be to the extent of 14 million tonnes, coal of seven million tonnes and general cargo of two million tonnes.

At Krishnapatnam, Sonia also laid the foundation stone today for the 1600 MW Sri Damodaram Sanjeevaiah Reddy thermal power project, which has several special features. It is in fact the first 800 MW units, which has the highest capacity in India, as far as public sector facilities go.

New Delhi, July 17
“Punjab is one of those six states in the country which feels it is not necessary to enact legislation on control and development of groundwater resources,” said union water resources minister Saifuddin Soz. The other five states are Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Mnipur and Arunachal Pradesh.

Incidentally, in neighbouring Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, initiatives are being taken for enactment of the Model Bill circulated by the Centre while Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh belong to the category that had already enacted and implemented the groundwater legislation.

Apparently, Punjab does not want to take any step in this direction as it would mean antagonising farmers.

To enable the states enact groundwater legislation, the ministry of water resources had circulated a Model Bill to regulate and control development of groundwater.

Enactment of groundwater legislation, adoption of artificial recharge techniques, awareness and training programmes on groundwater issues, scientific development of groundwater and achieving the mandate of central groundwater authority, are perceived to be the keys to achieve regulation, control and management of precious groundwater in the country.

Talking to The Tribune, Soz said that in the past four years he had pursued the issue with the Punjab government several times. He reminded present Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his predecessor Amarinder Singh that watertable in the state was going down and the groundwater had been exploited to dangerous levels in several districts.

“ Water is a state subject and it is important that the state must do something to conserve it. Not just Parkash Singh Badal, I had also written to former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh that water was an important issue for an agricultural state like Punjab and that something must be done to control and develop the groundwater resources. But it seems that lot of politics got mixed up with the proposition, which is unfortunate,” Soz said, adding that just two months back he had written to Badal, explaining how groundwater situation needed urgent attention.

Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Lakshdweep, Kerala, Pondicherry, West Bengal, Bihar and Dadra and Nagar Haveli are those 11 states and union territories where the Centre-circulated Model Bill has been enacted and implemented.

There are 18 other states in the country where state governments and UT administrations are taking initiatives for enactment of the Bill. 

Guwahati, July 17
In view of growing concern among people in the region especially in Assam over plausible disastrous impact of mega dams that are being built in seismically active hills of Arunachal Pradesh, power ministers of the northeast have requested the Centre to conduct a study on cumulative impact of these dams in the catchments areas.

Assam power minister Pradyut Bardoloi informed that the Northeast Regional Power Ministers’ Committee had aired concern over the threat posed to the environment and human habitats in catchments as well as the downstream areas.

The committee has agreed that the environmental impact study group of Union power ministry should have noted environmentalist from the northeast as members so that the study group could properly assess the impact of the proposed dams on the environment of the region.

Governor of Assam S.C. Mathur has also aired his views against construction of mega dams in Arunachal Pradesh hills as those would pose serious threat to environment and a large population in Assam.

In response, the Arunachal Pradesh government has registered its opposition to what the Government of Assam has stated against construction of mega dams.

The hydropower potential map prepared by the Arunachal Pradesh government projects generation of 56,539 MW of power completely ignoring the massive threat posed to the densely populated areas downstream.

The recent wave of flash floods in Lakhimpur district of upper Assam triggered by sudden release on waters from a hydro-power project dam in the upstream areas in Arunachal Pradesh, has added fuel to the anti-dam movement in the region.

Anti-dam activists organised under Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) in Assam have threatened to go to ‘extreme limit’ to thwart construction of mega dams in Arunachal Pradesh without properly assessing the affect in the downstream areas.

“We are prepared to lay down our life in our quest to prevent building mega dams in Arunachal Pradesh,” Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti general secretary Akhil Gogoi said.

Bangalore, July 17
True to its poll promises, the BJP government in the state today announced free power supply to irrigation tubewells of 10 hp capacity or less and setting up of an agriculture mission headed by Chief Minister Yeddyurappa to take stock of the problems of the agriculture sector.

The ruling party will expect that the steps, figuring in the Budget proposal of the state government presented in the Assembly by the Chief Minister, will offset the criticism drawn by the government over the issue of tough handling of the farmers agitation by the state police recently.

Yeddyurappa, in view of the lack of adequate rainfall in the state, also announced a one time benefit of Rs 1,000 per family to 50 lakh small and marginal farmers who were dependent on dry farming. He said loans at 3 per cent interest would be given to farmers, fishermen and weavers. A special commission would be appointed to promote organic farming in the state, he added.

the Chief Minister announced enhancement of the retirement of the state government employees to 60 years from the existing 58 years. The step will help the BJP earn the goodwill of the employees who will benefit from two more years of service. There was, however, no mention in the Budget of filling up of about one lakh posts lying vacant in the state owing to resource crunch.

The government allocated Rs 1,800 crore for Bangalore’s infrastructure development. Yeddyurappa said Bangalore would require Rs 36,000 crore to tackle its infrastructure problems over the next five years. Of the Rs 1,800 crore, Rs 700 crore will be allotted to the Bangalore metro project, Rs 300 crore to the municipal corporation, Rs 240 crore for improvement of roads, Rs 100 crore for drinking water supply and Rs 25 crore for improvement of traffic management. He said a 65 km outer ring road, 10 flyovers and under-passes would also be built in Bangalore.

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) would invest Rs 7 billion to provide roads, drainage and drinking water facilities in the extended civic areas, he said.

Mumbai, July 17
With the hike in fuel price affecting the aviation industry in a major way, many young aspirants seeking jobs as pilots and in-flight crew, will have to take a reality check.

In the coming months, hundreds of young men and women who return home armed with degrees from various pilot-training schools all over the world, will end up waiting as there will be fewer jobs around.

"A number of private airlines have already decided to stop hiring trainee pilots after they postponed taking delivery of new aircrafts," says Mahesh Anand, a trainee pilot lounging at a coffee shop near the Juhu Flying Club in suburban Mumbai. Even a large carrier, which required trainees to cough up lakhs of rupees as 'fees' while they

underwent training, have stopped recruiting new staff, he adds.

Those likely to suffer the most are aspirants who have been trained at a number of small training schools in the US. According to job seekers, many of them have taken bank loans to complete their training. The lucky ones will find jobs with the corporate sector or with cargo carriers abroad.

In all, more than 2,000 such trainee pilots are expected to be hunting for jobs in the next two years.

Almost all airlines have stopped fresh recruitments and with many of them slashing the number of flights, serving pilots and cabin crew are likely to be retrenched.

Former aggressive players in the aviation space like the Air Deccan, GoAir, Spice Jet, Jet Airways, etc have knocked off a number of destinations from their itineraries to cut costs. "There is, however, no proposal to retrench staff and people will be redeployed in the sectors," a Jet Airways spokesman said.

However, employees fear that many of them could be sacked in the coming months for “non-performance”.

This has, however, not reduced the rush of aspirants trying their luck at many training centres. According to an employee at one of the offices of Frankfinn Institute of Air-Hostess Training which trains flight crew, the number of people enrolling with the academy continues to be encouraging.

Rakesh Agarwal, who heads Frankfinn, says there is no dearth of job opportunities for the “right candidate”. "International airlines, particularly those touching India, continue to hire from here," says Agarwal. According to him, the intake of people by international airlines will increase in the coming months.

Civil aviation minister Praful Patel said recently in the parliament that Indian airlines altogether employed more than 944 expatriate pilots.

He added that the director general of civil aviation had advised all airlines to submit plans to phase out foreign pilots and recruit Indian pilots in their place.

New Delhi, Jul 17
The cumulative monsoon rainfall from June 1 to July 15 was 6 per cent above the long period average (LPA) for the country as a whole, but deficient over south peninsula and central India, the met office said today.

Of the 36 meteorological sub divisions, the rainfall was in excess (at least 20 per cent more than LPA) over 15 sub divisions, normal over seven sub divisions and deficient (at least 20 per cent less than LPA) over 14 sub divisions.

Over the country as a whole, the rainfall during the period was 319.1 mm, 15.5 mm less than last year. It was 285.5 mm over northwest india (77 per cent more than LPA), 173.5 mm over south peninsula (34 per cent less than LPA), 313.6 mm over central india (3 per cent less than LPA), and 574.8 mm over northeast india (1 per cent more than LPA).

During the past one week, the rainfall was deficient or scanty over peninsular india, while good rainfall activity continued over the northeastern states and northern plains.

According to next week’s forecast, enhanced rainfall activity with isolated heavy to very heavy falls is likely over the northeastern states, sub-himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim and Bihar. Subdued rainfall activity is likely over central, west and peninsular, particularly over AP, interior Karnataka, interior Maharashtra, Gujarat and west Rajasthan. The rainfall is likely to be deficient over Gujarat region, Madhya Maharashtra, Marathwada, Vidarbha, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and north interior Karnataka.

Dehra Dun, July 17
Hoping to revive the language of ancient India, ‘Sanskrit’, the Utarakhand Sanskrit Academy has taken initiative to launch a programme in all 13 districts of the state. These programmes will help in revitalising the frequent use and importance of the language.

Secretary, academy, Dr. Budhdev Sharma said, “Sanskrit is the language of our country which depicts its rich cultural heritage. This language has faced a planned strategy of degradation started by Britishers and followed by Indians.”

“The programmes are decided for 2008-2009. We will be organising Sanskrit plays, debates, declamations. Also, Sanskrit scholars will be felicitated for their outstanding contribution in this field,” he added.

The state government has sanctioned funds to the academy for organising these set of programmes. In this regard, workshops and training programmes will be organised for the people interested to take up a career in the language.

The Sanskrit portal will be initiated by the academy featuring the culture heritage of not only Uttarakhand but of all states of India. The website will feature the description of eminent pandits and purohits, religious programmes, horoscope, and other details regarding the sacred places of the country.

New Delhi, July 17
Bangladesh today assured India that it would not allow its territory to be used by any militant group to promote terrorist activities on the Indian soil as the two countries pledged to resolve all issues, including river water dispute, in a friendly and cooperative manner.

Dhaka’s assurance to New Delhi came at the annual foreign office consultations between foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and his Bangladesh counterpart Touhid Hossain.

Bangladesh has often given such an assurance to India but several anti-India militant groups like Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (Huji) continue to operate from its territory and keep instigating terror attacks, particularly in the northeast

The two officials discussed a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues aimed at building “trust and understanding” between the two countries.

“We discussed the issue of terrorism and how we both need to face it together,” Menon told reporters at a joint press briefing.

Menon said: “We are convinced that our security is interlinked and that terrorism will have to be tackled resolutely.” He stated: “The details, of course, are dealt with on other fora. And we look forward to working together against terrorism.”

Concurring with Menon, the Bangladesh foreign secretary said terrorism was a global problem. “We have a mechanism for cooperation in this area and we will continue to do that,” he added.

As part of the exercise to strengthen relations between the two countries, Menon announced that Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor and home secretary Madhukar Gupta would be visiting Dhaka soon.

The long-standing cross-border river water dispute saw some progress with both sides deciding to hold the meeting of the technical committees.

“On the water issue we have agreed that the technical committees should sit and resolve the issue quickly - the embankment protection of the rivers which has been harming the people on both sides of our border,” Hossain said.

The two top officials also spoke about expanding trade and economic ties between India and Bangladesh. Hossain said a bilateral investment and protection treaty was in “an advanced stage of finalisation.”

“We believe that in the near future we will be able to do something on that,” he said.

The Bangladesh foreign secretary said the meeting did not put on backburner any issue that was important for relations between the two countries.

The two sides looked positively at the launch of the cross-border friendship (maitree) train connecting Dhaka and Kolkata early this year and restarting of rice export by India.

Guwahati, July 17
A havildar of the 10thJammu Kashmir Light Infantry, posted at interior Montuk area in Manipur, shot at a Major in a fit of rage on Tuesday, according to delayed reports.

Imphal-based defence spokesman Colonel Rajesh Mishra informed that havildar Ashok Kumar had barged into the room of Major Angkit Varadhwaj inside the camp of the Infantry and opened fire at him from close range. The Major later succumbed to his injuries at Army hospital at Leimakhong cantonment.

The Army immediately took the havildar into custody. The defence official informed that the Army would institute an internal probe to ascertain havildar’s motive behind killing the Major, however, the police has registered a separate case into the incident.

Silliguri, July 17
In a major breakthrough, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) today apprehended a Pakistani national, involved in spying against India, from a hotel in Naxalbari, near here. The police said acting on a tip-off, CID sleuths, in association with the local police, raided the hotel and arrested suspected militant Sameer Ahmad, alias Abid Khan, a native of Bahawalnagar in Pakistani Punjab.

They also recovered incriminating literature and other articles related to defence mechanism from his possession, the police added. — UNI

New Delhi, July 17
A 24-hour FM news channel of All India Radio (AIR) will soon go on air, as part of an ambitious expansion plan of the public broadcaster, CEO Prasar Bharati B.S. Lalli announced here today.

The decision has been taken in view of the increasing popularity of FM Radio and the competition it was facing from the private channels, said Lalli while addressing the national conference of heads of the Regional News Units of AIR here.

There was no lack of finance for these plans, but technical and manpower problems have to be looked into, he said.

He said as many as 49 regional news bulletins had been started and plans were to introduce more. Now, there will be a separate budget for regional news.

Lalli said the public broadcaster was facing a lot of challenges in sustaining public interest in its programmes while at the same time not overlooking the issues of public and national interest.

He said broadcasting was at crossroads today, as though there was proliferation of information, there was in fact drought of information related to the grassroot realities. — UNI

Guwahati, July 17
Violence against women has increased in Assam in recent years as per the data compiled by the state Home Department and tabled in the state Assembly.

A total of 29,731 cases of crime against women were recorded in the state between 2001 and 2007. In addition, 2,017 more incidents have taken place during January-May this year. A total of 7,504 cases of rape were reported from different parts of the state during 2001-2007 while another 505 cases were registered during January-May this year. The highest number (1,311) took place in 2007 registering an almost twofold increase from 785 such incidents in the year 2001.

The number of dowry cases, including dowry deaths, registered almost threefold rise from 1,037 cases in 2001 to 3,063 cases in 2007. Similarly, cases of molestation have been on the rise from 850 incidents in 2001 to 970 in 2007. The total molestation cases registered during the period 2001 to 2007 were 6,380. In addition, 429 molestation cases were registered in the state from January to May this year.

As many as 914 women were murdered in the state during the period 2001 to 2007 with 2004 registering the highest number of 137 cases. There were 85 more cases of murder that were recorded between January and May this year.

There were a total of 150 cases related to women trafficking registered in the state during 2001-2007 in addition to eight more such cases that occurred during January-May this year.

State cabinet minister Rockybul Hussain claimed that the rise in the number of registered cases of violence against women should be attributed to the state government’s initiatives to make the womenfolk aware of the need to register cases against their tormentor to get justice. He said when the awareness level was down in the past, a large number of cases of crime against women had remained unregistered.

Moreover, the prevailing situation in the insurgency-hit state has also taken its toll on the womenfolk. The state government informed that 33 women were raped by personnel from the Army, the Assam Police and paramilitary forces in the state from 2001 till date. Another 26 women suffered atrocities at the hands of the men in uniform.

BRIEFLY

Mystery ‘psycho-killer’ claims one more victim
CHENNAI: Fear stalks the people of Vadapalani, West Mambalam and K K Nagar areas of the city as yet another half-burnt body, with blood stains all over, was found near the Ashok Pillar on Thursday, leading to suspicion of a “psycho-killer” on the prowl. The incident has sent shock waves among the locals, as this was the fifth such incident in the past couple of weeks and third in the past six days. — UNI

Pandher faces rape, murder charges
Ghaziabad: A special CBI court has began the trial proceedings against Moninder Singh Pandher and Surender Kohli, prime accused in the infamous Nithari serial killings. Special CBI court Judge Rama Jain passed the orders on Wednesday asking the investigative agency to begin the trial. Pandher now stands formally charged under various sections of the IPC for murder, kidnapping, rape, concealment, and destruction of evidence etc. — PTI

Jail inmates sit for exams
GUWAHATI: For inmates of Guwahati Central Jail, it was not a smooth transition from the gun to the pen, but the wish to start a new life was what got them to write their examinations in a first time experiment in Assam. Some of the inmates, including former hardcore militants, were plain nervous appearing for an examination after long years, while others were just amused. — PTI

Conditional bail for ex- judge
AGARTALA: The West Tripura Chief Judicial Magistrate on Thursday granted conditional bail to former judge Somnath Ganguly, who was arrested on Wednesday for unauthorised interference in the court’s proceedings. Ganguly was arrested in connection with a complaint regarding unauthorised interference in the court’s proceedings, filed by an employee of the court in November. — UNI

One shot, 5 militants nabbed
IMPHAL: A suspected underground cadre was shot dead at Hiyang-thang Tarahei Khul, Imphal West. The police said here on Thursday that the suspected militant was killed in an encounter on Wednesday night. In a separate incident, the police commandos and Assam Rifles troops apprehended four ultras of Kangleipak Communist Party and a Kanglei Yawol Kanglei Lup cadre from different locations of Thoubal and Imphal East districts. — UNI

Ex-CJI Lahoti nominated
DEHRA DUN: Former Chief Justice of India R C Lahoti has been nominated as an executive council member of Kumaon University in Uttarakhand. Along with him, renowned journalist Mrinal Pandey, educationist Amla Batra and founder president of Nescom Saurabh Srivastava have also been nominated council members, state Governor B L Joshi said in a statement here. — UNI