Bangalore, November 13
The moon impact probe (MIP) aboard the unmanned Chandrayaan-1 will be dropped on the lunar surface tomorrow marking the beginning of the operational phase of India’s maiden moon mission.

“The MIP will be ejected at 8 pm tomorrow,” M. Annadurai, project director of the Chandrayaan-1 mission, said today.

After its ejection from the spacecraft, it will take 25 minutes for the MIP (weighing 29 kg) to hit the lunar surface. The MIP contains a video camera, a C-band radar altimeter and a mass spectrometer. The equipments inside the MIP would be turned on before the MIP was ejected for its landing on the lunar surface. After hitting the lunar surface from a height of 100 km, the MIP and equipments inside it are expected to be permanently disabled.

The dropping of the MIP will also mark India’s presence on the moon. “The Tricolour has been pasted and screwed on the sideboards of the MIP,” Annadurai said.

Chandrayaan-1 was launched from Sriharikota with the help of PSLV-CII rocket on October 22. It was inserted into an elliptical orbit around the moon on November 8. Yesterday, the satellite was finally put on a circular orbit around the moon. The spacecraft is slated to remain in the orbit for the next two years and will send data to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) about various aspects of the moon.

The primary objective of the MIP is to demonstrate technologies required for landing a probe at the desired location on the moon. Through this probe, it is also intended to test some of the technologies related to future soft landing missions being planned by ISRO.

The C-band radar altimeter inside the MIP will be used for continuous measurement of altitude of MIP above lunar surface and test technologies for future landing missions. The video camera will capture images of the surface of the moon during the MIP’s descent.

The mass spectrometer will measure the constituents of the extremely thin lunar surface during the 25-minute drop of the MIP from the spacecraft.

Besides the MIP, Chandrayaan-1 has 10 more scientific payloads that will be turned on gradually by radioing the commands from the ground control in Bangalore.

ISRO chief rejects criticism over high costs

Chennai: ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair today sought to silence critics of the ‘Chandrayaan-1’ moon mission programme over its “exorbitant” costs, saying that only a miniscule portion of the Indian space programme’s budget had been allotted for the mission.

“Only three per cent of total budget of ISRO for three years has been spent on the mission. Most of the expenses have gone to create infrastructural facilities, which will be used for our plans to send satellites to Mars and Venus. Hence the question of spending an exorbitant amount does not arise,” he said, inaugurating an international seminar on Emerging Scenarios in Space Technology and applications here.

Dedicating the successful Chandrayaan-1 mission to the Indian scientific community, he said “It is a turning point in the country’s space programme and has enthused young scientists.”

ISRO had not forgotten its commitment to society, he said, adding that the organisation’s next phase was to provide benefits to the poor through advanced technology.

“Our eyes will now focus on global warming, water shortage and telemedicine, which are important to the poor,” he added. — PTI

New Delhi, November 13
Grappling with the menace of terrorism and the impact of the global financial meltdown on their respective economies, India and six other countries surrounding the Bay of Bengal today finalised a convention on combating international terrorism, transnational crimes and illicit drug trafficking and pledged to work out a free trade area (FTA) accord amongst them soon.

The convention on combating terrorism was among the four agreements ready for formal signatures, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced at a joint press conference with the leaders of the Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand at the conclusion of the second Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit here. The other three agreements related to the setting of an energy centre, a climate centre and a cultural observatory.

Though little is known about the grouping, BIMSTEC has made commendable progress since it came into being in 1997 and chalked out an ambitious agenda for the economic integration of South Asia and Southeast Asia. The members of the grouping are also keen to enhance cooperation in a range of areas, including energy and food security. They proposed to set up a food bank to assist any member nation in the event of a crisis.

“I feel that we should do something visible in the area of trade and economic cooperation as a manifestation of our ability to do something big together,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said at the plenary of the summit this morning. He said considerable progress had been made in the negotiations on the BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement for trade in goods. “The early conclusion of such an agreement would be a shining symbol of our cooperation. We also look forward to the next stage of an agreement in the area of investment and services.”

Others present at the Plenary were: Bangladesh chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed, Bhutan Prime Minister Jigmi Y Thinley, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Thai Premier Somchai Wangsawat. In his address, the Sri lankan President proposed that the leaders of the seven member-nations should meet bi-annually, as that would go a long way in intensifying cooperation among them.

India, with its vast capacity and economic potential could indeed serve as an engine, driving and guiding the grouping to withstand the fallout of the global economic crisis while ushering prosperity for the region.

In a declaration the leaders adopted at the end of the summit, they called for improved transportation and communication linkages and greater connectivity among member-States, cooperate in the field of marine resources, agriculture, public health and promote people-to-people contacts.

Mumbai, November 13
The Maharashtra government has banned a movie called ‘Deshdrohi’, which purportedly claims to feature the plight of North Indians in Mumbai, who have been at the receiving of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.

The movie in Bhojpuri language was to be released in the city theatres on Friday. The producer-director of the movie, Kamaal Khan, had earlier organised screenings of the movie for police officials and activists of the MNS.

The police officials had recommended the ban on the grounds that it may cause law and order problems because of its theme. The ban would be effective for two months.Reports say, the movie features a North Indian character played by Khan himself, who is at the receiving end of Marathi chauvinists, whoask him to return home.Khan said he would appeal against the ban in the court. Bhojpuri films do not wide reach in Mumbai though they are popular among migrant labourers from North India.

However, Deshdrohi has been promoted on television channels and some controversial dialogues have drawn objections in Maharashtra.

PTI adds: “There has been criticism from various quarters, specially the north Indian leaders over the state’s law and order situation in the backdrop of Raj Thackeray-led MNS’ violent agitation against north Indians. The police did not want to take any chance,” a senior home department official said.

The film’s writer, producer and actor Kamaal Khan reacted sharply to the development, saying they would take legal recourse to ensure that the film is released.

MNS has welcomed the ban. Party spokesperson Shirish Parkar said the government should show guts and take action against SP legislator Kishor Amrite who offered Rs 1 crore to anyone killing Raj Thackeray.

“The state government should not just boast to Delhi leaders that they have filed as many as 54 cases against the MNS chief,” Parkar said.

Mumbai, November 13
The missing laptop computer of Lt Col Prasad Purohit, a key accused in the Malegaon blast case, has been found and is expected to reveal crucial details about involvement of other persons in the conspiracy, the police said here today.

The computer was initially not found after the detention of Purohit from Panchmarhi in Madhya Pradesh and is suspected to contain details of other members of the right wing group Abhinav Bharat who could have had a role to play in the Malegaon blast.

It is also suspected to contain details of persons who had undergone training in camps organised by Purohit and others and details of the monetary transactions that were carried out by members of the group, the sources said.

However, ATS officials refused to comment on the issue saying it was still too early to reveal any details. They also refused to comment on where the computer would be taken for forensic analysis.

Authorities at the Kalina Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in suburban Santacruz said they had not yet received the computer for forensic analysis.

Ten persons have been arrested so far for their alleged involvement in carrying out a blast in Malegaon on September 29, in which six persons were killed and about 80 injured.

One of the arrested in the Malegaon case, Ajay Rahirkar, had allegedly received funds through ‘hawala channels’ which were then disbursed among others at the behest of Purohit, ATS officials said.

Investigators hoped to find the details of the transactions in the laptop. Rahirkar, a functionary of the Abhinav Bharat group, had also allegedly supplied money for purchase of six imported weapons to Rakesh Dhawade, who has also been arrested in the Malegaon case.

Dhawade, an expert in guns, has also been arrested for his involvement in the 2004 Jalna blast after evidence emerged of his presence during weapons training provided prior to the blast. The ATS is also probing the possible involvement of Purohit and other members of the group in previous terror acts like the Nanded blast in 2006 and the Jalna blast. — PTI

Nashik, November 13
Lt Col Srikant Prasad Purohit, arrested for his alleged involvement in Malegaon blast, is being tortured in the police custody, his father-in-law alleged today.

In an application filed before the chief judicial magistrate’s court here, Army official’s father-in-law Vilas Dalvi alleged that Purohit’s finger was broken during interrogation and he had injury marks all over his body due to the torture he had to endure.

He has sought that Purohit be exempted from police custody.

Dalvi has also sought that a team of five doctors consisting of two Army doctors, two independent doctors and one government doctor examine Purohit.

Purohit is among 10 persons arrested for their alleged involvement in the September 29 Malegaon blast in which six persons were killed and about 80 injured.

The serving Army officer, who was taken from Panchmarhi in MP for questioning and then arrested, is in police custody till November 15. Scientific tests like polygraph, brain mapping and narco-analysis have been performed on Purohit. The application filed is likely to come up for hearing on November 15 since the judge is presently on leave. — PTI

Lucknow, November 13
The head of a Jammu math picked up from Kanpur yesterday in connection with the Malegaon blasts was awarded three-day transit remand by the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court.

The Maharashtra anti-terrorist squad (ATS) was set to take the suspect to Mumbai for further interrogation, the ADG, Law and Order, Brijlal said.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Mukesh Kumar Singh directed the Maharashtra ATS to produce Dayanand Pandey originally known as Sudhakar Dwivedi before the Nashik court on November 16. As today was a court holiday, the suspect was produced at the CJM’s residence.

Pandey is popularly called Swami Amritanand, was yesterday picked up from his advocate brother Pushkar Dwivedi’s residence in Kanpur after a joint operation of the UP and Maharashtra ATS.

The Rawatpur house of the Dwivedis is barely 1 km away from Rajiv Nagar in Kanpur, where two Bajrang Dal activists died in August, while making bombs. The arrested suspect was reported to be in Kanpur at the time of the blast.

New Delhi, November 13
The BJP today accused the Maharashtra government of “framing” charges against sadhvi Pragya Thakur, the main accused in the Malegaon blasts, for garnering minority votes.

“The Maharashtra government with the Centre’s support is framing charges against sadhvi Pragya Thakur to gain back the minority votes, which it has lost long ago,” party vice-president Gopinath Munde charged. Hindu organisations are being purposely dragged into such controversies to malign them, Munde claimed, while warning that it would prove counter-productive for the Congress.

“The government is doing a ‘big harm’ by publicly naming Army personnel allegedly involved in the case and the ATS has ‘no evidence’ to prove the guilt of those arrested, Munde said here.“The Army should not be involved in the probe unless there are strong evidence of their involvement. The ATS does not have any evidence to prove the guilt of the arrested and is doing one narco test after other to dig out stories. Why haven’t the ATS subjected the terrorists arrested for the 2006 Malegaon blasts to narco tests,” he charged.

Nine persons, including sadhvi Pragya Thakur and a serving Army officer Lt Col Srikant Prasad Purohit, have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the September 29 Malegaon blasts. — PTI

Guwahati, November 13
The Assam government has decided to ask for a separate investigation into the serial blasts by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in response to a resolution adopted by the meeting of all political parties convened by the Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi here last night to discuss the situation in the state after the terror strike.

Chief Minister’s media adviser Debo Kumar Bora said the state government would ask for a CBI investigation into the blasts without disrupting the present investigation that was being conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Assam police.

He said the all-party meeting had condemned ‘terrorists and fundamentalist’ forces for carrying out the serial blasts that killed over 90 persons and injured over 400 in the state and resolved to recommend for a CBI investigation into the terror act.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the BJP, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), CPI, CPM, Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF), who termed the post-serial blasts mass uprising against terrorism as a positive sign and underlined the need to strengthen the mass movement against terrorism.

As per the resolution of the all-party meeting, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi announced that the state government would ask for a CBI inquiry into the serial blasts.

Meanwhile, the SIT arrested a former ‘army chief’ of the banned National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), Sobin Boro, and a Bhutanese national living in exile in Nepal, Tenzing G. Zangpo, from a rented house in the city for their links to the blasts.

Police sources said a conspiracy to trigger the blasts was locally given the final shape at a meeting at Sobin Boro’s rented house in the city on October 17 last. Both were remanded in police custody by a local court here for 10 days.

On the other hand, the Assam police nabbed two other blasts suspects, R. Serja and B. Pwthai, during a search operation at the truce-time designated camp of the NDFB at Baksa district yesterday.

NDFB general secretary Govinda Basumatary reiterated that the outfit, which is now in truce with the government of India, was in no way involved in the serial blasts. He said in case any of its members was found to be involved, the outfit as a whole should not be held responsible for that and that NDFB wanted a peaceful solution through dialogue with the Central government.

Guwahati, November 13
The self-styled ‘commander-in-chief’ of the banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), Paresh Barua, today broke his silence over the October 30 serials blasts by issuing an e-mail statement to the media here denying the involvement of the outfit in the terror act.

ULFA’s fugitive ‘chief of army staff’, who is suspected to be taking shelter in Bangladesh, said: “The recent spates of incidents causing death of hundreds of Assamese have been attributed to ULFA. The leadership and thousands of workers of ULFA would like to categorically deny their involvement in such heinous crimes as because we do not believe in the killing of our own brothers.”

“Moreover, why should we do that and we are confident that the event that will unfold in future would vindicate our position. The claim by some that we have carried out the blasts is a sheer lie as thousands of freedom loving people of Asom are committed to their motherland and believe in the able leadership of ULFA that has the following and capacity to achieve freedom for Asom.”

Pointing accusing finger at the Indian government, the ULFA leader stated: “The serial bomb blasts of October 30 have caused untold sufferings to the people where many innocent people were killed and many injured. In the bid to cover up their conspiracy, the Indian rulers have pointed fingers at ULFA, Islamic terrorists and other groups working for rights in the area. ULFA does not believe in such cowardly acts against civilians. With the elections looming large, the Indian ruling clique needs excuses to divert the attention of the people from their failure in tackling the issue of poverty, hunger, lack of education, mass deprivation and so on. ULFA would like to categorically say it is against all types of fundamentalism and religious obscurantisms, be it Hindu, Muslim, Christian or any other brand of religion. To ULFA the establishment of an independent Asom is the priority where people of Asom would be free from all types of exploitation and deprivation,” the ULFA leader stated.

Guwahati, November 13
The police in connection with the October 30 serial blasts in Assam that claimed 84 lives has apprehended six more persons, including a Bhutanese national.

The police has so far arrested 23 persons for their alleged involvement in the blasts, suspected to have been carried out by ULFA and the NDFB in association with Bangladesh-based fundamentalist organisations.

Bhutanese national Tenzing G. Zangpo and self-styled home secretary of National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) Sabin Boro were picked from a rented house here yesterday and arrested after interrogation.

The two were remanded in 10 days of police custody by the Kamrup additional Chief Judicial Magistrate.

The police also entered a NDFB designated camp in Baksa district and arrested two cadres R. Serja and B. Pwthai yesterday. They are being brought here today for further interrogation.

The police had gheraoed the designated camp since Monday night but could enter the camp only yesterday. The two NDFB cadres were arrested on the basis of a list of suspects sent by the special investigating team set up to probe the blasts.

A suspected ULFA cadre was nabbed from the Jalukbari area last night in connection with the blasts and two M-20 pistols were recovered from him, the police said.

Another person, identified as Ganesh Basumatary, was taken into custody on the basis of statements by some of the arrested persons, the police said. — PTI

New Delhi, November 13
With the DMK maintaining relentless pressure on his government on the Sri Lankan issue, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked President of the island nation Mahinda Rajapaksa to ensure safety and welfare of the ethnic Tamils.

Rajapaksa met Manmohan Singh here this evening on the margins of the BIMSTEC Summit and explained to him the steps his government has taken to protect the interests of Tamils. He, however, is understood to have made it clear that the military offensive against the LTTE would not stop as his government was determined to crush terrorism before initiating the political process of settling the ethnic crisis.

Official sources said Manmohan Singh and Rajapaksa discussed the situation in Sri Lanka at length while reviewing bilateral ties.

The Indian Prime Minister talked about the “humanitarian” aspect of the conflict and asked Rajapaksa to ensure protection and welfare of innocent Tamils caught in the war. He emphasised that the interests of innocent civilians should be protected even while dealing with terrorism.

The two leaders also discussed the problem of firing by the Sri Lankan navy on Indian fishermen and Rajapaksa assured Manmohan Singh that his forces would exercise restraint.

Earlier in the day, the Sri Lankan President, addressing the BIMSTEC summit, said the terrorist activities of the LTTE would have to be dealt with militarily and any underlying causes, exploited by such outfits, should be addressed politically.

“For over two decades, Sri Lanka has been facing a tremendous challenge to our democratic way of life through barbaric actions of a terrorist group, the LTTE,” he said.

The offensive against the LTTE in Sri Lanka had last month snowballed into a major political crisis in Tamil Nadu last month with the DMK, a key ally of the UPA regime at the centre, and other political parties in the state asking the government to use its good offices and ensure that the military action was halted. They had alleged that innocent Tamils were being killed in the military operation and that some 2, 00,000 Tamils had been displaced due to the military action.

New Delhi, November 13
US helicopter manufacturer Bell has backed-off from the contest to provide 197 light utility helicopters that the Indian defence ministry is seeking and had sent out global request for proposals.

An official of Bell Helicopters Indian Limited confirmed reports that the company was not participating in the competition as the senior management felt it was not feasible for the company to comply with the offsets clause in the tender documents. The official said the company felt it could not comply with the clause and this was the reason for withdrawal. The Indian defence ministry had put down a clause under which the original equipment manufacturer, who gets the contract, was bound to plough back 50 per cent of the deal amount in developing the Indian defence industry.

In fact, this was the re-issue of the fresh tender for its light helicopter requirements. The original was cancelled in December last year following objections raised by Bell over rejection of its bids in favour of French Eurocopter’s bid.

Bell and Eurocopter were the two final contenders and India had decided to put its weight behind the Eurocopter after technical evaluation. Bell had contended that India had unjustifiably rejected its bid and had not given it a fair chance to participate in the technical trials of their product. Defence ministry officials are also surprised since it was at Bell’s insistence that India re-tendered.

The requirements of the Army and the IAF stood at 384 light choppers. The plan is to buy for 197 of these and the remaining number would be build here in Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). HAL has now begun working on development of this class of helicopter and it will produce about 200 of these choppers. Just 10 days ago HAL announced that it would set up a separate helicopter division.

Kolkata, November 13
Departing from the normal practice of accepting the nominee selected by the state government, West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi has sought a panel of three names for him to choose his press secretary.

Gandhi apparently felt the need to pick his choice after Dhruba Basu, his current press secretary, was transferred to the information and cultural affairs department without the Governor’s knowledge.

State government sources said there was no instance in the past when a Governor has sought a panel of nominees.

Basu, who was appointed press secretary in 2000, has also petitioned the state government to keep his transfer order given on Friday in abeyance stating he would like to continue in Raj Bhavan.

“I have cited specific grounds why I would like to remain in this post,” he said.

Basu said the Governor was informed of his transfer order on Saturday and he had promptly sent a proposal to the state government seeking a panel to be interviewed by him instead of appointment by the government.

The Governor’s proposal was conveyed to principal secretary Dilip Chakraborty in the information department.

Chakraborty forwarded both Governor’s suggestion as well as his press secretary’s petition to Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee who also holds the information and cultural affairs portfolio.

The Chief Minister, however, has not taken any decision as yet, sources said. — PTI

Kolkata, November 13
Sunderbans, world’s largest mangrove forest located between Bangladesh and West Bengal, and the Ganga are competing with some gorgeous natural heritage sites across the globe for the seven Wonders of Nature list.

Famous for its breathtaking beauty and the Royal Bengal Tiger, the Sunderbans forest has carved a niche for itself when the mangrove was selected by the New Seven Wonders Foundation after the selection of seven new wonders of the world in the past year, which included the Taj Mahal.

Lying in the mouth of the Ganga, the Sunderban delta is composed of mangrove forests, swamps and forest island all interwoven in a network of small rivers and streams.

Altogether 400 places from different continents have been nominated primarily in the seven wonders nomination process, which include 51 places from South America, 31 Europe, 30 Asia, 27 North America, 19 Africa and 10 from Oceania. Voting is continuing through internet.

“It is so exciting that out of 400 places, which have been nominated primarily in the seven wonders nomination process, the Sundarban and the Ganga are on leading positions at this moment for Asia region,” an expert on Sunderbans affair reacted.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee cast his vote here at the Writers’ Buildings recently on the website www.new7wonders.com to nominate the Sunderbans and the Ganga as two of the seven ‘Global Wonders of Nature’.

Tushar Kanjilal, secretary of Tagore society for Rural Development, was also present at the state secretariat, along with Sunderbans development minister Kanti Ganguly and irrigation minister Subhas Naskar.

“The Chief Minister took the first step and we request people from both West Bengal and across the country to vote for the Sunderbans and the Ganga to enlist them in the seven new natural wonders’ list,” Ganguly said.

Ganguly said, “We have already formed a supporting committee to champion the cause and we are trying to promote it in a manner to appeal to people in India and Bangladesh to vote for these two heritage sites. In fact three because Cox’s Bazar beach, the largest sea beach of the world, has also found place in the nominated site out of 158 natural places of the world so far.”

The foundation was set up by Swiss-born Canadian filmmaker-explorer Bernard Weber. The platform selects the wonders on the basis of nomination committees in each country and only one nomination from each country is finalised in the last lap of the race.

The Ganga was at the seventh position, while the Sunderbans was tenth, as per current voting on the website. The voting will continue throughout 2010 and into 2011 when the results will be declared.

Some other prominent natural heritage sites in the race include Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park in Phillipines, Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, Chocolate Hills in Phillipines, Al-Ahsa Oasis in Saudi Arabia, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National park in Vietnam and Fansipan Mountain in Vietnam. — UNI

Chennai, November 13
An ACP and an inspector were suspended and three policemen moved out of the city today following allegations of police inaction during student violence at Dr Ambedkar Law College after which its principal too was suspended while seven students were arrested.

Three students were seriously injured yesterday during a clash at the campus between students belonging to two communities over a poster, which did not carry the name of Dr Ambedkar. “ACP Narayanamurthy and inspector Sekar Babu have been suspended while four sub-inspectors were transferred out of Chennai,” Chennai police commissioner R. Sekhar said.

The seven arrested students have been booked under various IPC Sections, including 307 (attempt to murder) and remanded to custody. Law minister Duraimurugan said college principal Sridev had been placed under suspension while the ongoing semester exams were postponed as there was no “cordial atmosphere” to conduct them right now. All law colleges in Tamil Nadu have been closed to avoid any untoward incident, he said.

The student violence had its echo in the state Assembly where Duraimurugan while replying to a call attention motion announced setting up of a commission to probe the incident.

AIADMK members, who cited media reports about alleged police inaction, were evicted en masse from the Assembly after the Opposition members created a ruckus. The MDMK, AIADMK’s ally walked out of the House.AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa demanded the resignation of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, who holds the Home portfolio.

The incident had violent fallout in Coimbatore when a group of students threw stones and damaged furniture and windows of the law college. About 60 students were arrested. — PTI

Savli (Gujarat), November 13
Gujarat will be the first state to roll out world-class coaches for the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) with the inauguration of Canada-based Bombardier’s coach manufacturing unit here today.

The manufacturing plant, set up with an initial investment of 30-35 million Euros, is spread across 1.40 lakh-square feet of land and is scheduled to roll out the first coach to DMRC in June 2009.

“Savli is our latest expansion in India and it gives us the facility to develop the mobility needs of India,” Bombardier Chairman Laurent Beaudoin said.

“On our road to success, India has been a vital market since long and we did foresee the opportunity 25 years ago,” he said.

Beaudoin thanked DMRC managing director E. Sreedharan for showing trust in the company and assured on-time delivery of over 400 MOVIA coaches.

“I have been told that the first metro coach will be delivered to DMRC in the month of June,” Chief Minister Narendra Modi said.

The CM also announced plans to develop Gujarat as a state transport hub.

“Out of our 300 vendors, 150 are located in Gujarat and the presence of small and medium industry close to you is of tremendous advantage,” Bombardier India managing director Rajeev Jyoti said. — PTI

Lucknow, November 13
Following a public outcry, the son of a Bahujan Samaj Party legislator was arrested today for mowing down three persons in Sultanpur town. Among the dead were a woman and a six-year-old girl.

Rakesh Ranjan, son of Kadipur BSP legislator Bhagelu Ram Nishad, driving a Wagon R allegedly hit three persons on a bicycle late last evening in the Akhandnagar locality of Sultanpur town. All three died on the spot. Dodging the angry crowd Ranjan escaped from the scene of the accident.

According to Sultanpur SP D.C. Mishra, the deceased, Sigturam, Hasraji Devi and a six-year-old girl, Roshni, were hit from behind by Ranjan’s WagonR. The car then banged into a tree.

Irate residents set the car ablaze. “When the police reached the spot the residents took out their anger on them by hitting them with stones. Two constables were also injured", admitted Mishra.

Finally the BSP MLA's son was arrested in the wee hours this morning under the sections 304 A of the IPC (causing death by negligence) 338 (causing grievous hurt) and 427 (mischief causing damage).

New Delhi, November 13
Emphasising the need for more literature about the present times, Nobel Laureate Nadine Gordimer today regretted the fact that successive generation of writers preferred to write about the past.

Nadine, who has written extensively about racism and class discrimination, said, “There is a tendency to write about the history, but there is a need to write about the present discourses.”

Nadine, the winner of the 1991Nobel Prize for Literature, was responding to questions from the audience in the Capital after reading her story ‘Beethoven was one-sixteenth black’.

Animated, she read her story about a white old professor, who begins searching for his back lineage, as the meaning of race transforms in post-apartheid Africa.

Nadine received applause when she read the most celebrated lines from her story, “Once there were blacks wanting to be white. Now there are whites wanting to be black.” This was obviously seen as a significant comment in the context of Barack Obama’s resounding victory in the presidential polls in the US.

Speaking about Obama Nadine said, “He is a kind of reconciliation. Obama is a mix of black and white, he represents all of us. It is wonderful that he has been elected.”

Answering a question about her subjects, Nadine said there was never going to be a time when writers run out of subjects. “Even after the apartheid I would find more complex issues spread on a bigger canvas to address,” she said.

As someone who is based in the country and has been a close witness to the changing times in South Africa, the writer said, “There has been a substantial amount of progress in South Africa. However, it has only been a decade of our independence and there is still a lot more that needs to be done. The refugees from Zimbabwe and other neighbouring countries have put extra pressure on the economy. The poorest sections still comprise of the black population. The middle and upper-middle class back women do not want to associate with the struggle for gender equality.”

She added, “But it gives me a lot of hope looking at the coming generation that has the blacks, whites and all other races growing up together.”

Back home, her political affiliations Nadine said, were going through troubled times. “My party African National Congress had a split for some genuine reasons. People like me are in a fix about whether we should stick to the party or go with our comrades,” she said.

Taking about discrimination in India, Nadine said, “The Indian caste system is very regressive. When caste has its roots in religion and customs, it becomes difficult to do away with it.”

New Delhi, November 13
An interview given by P.S. Pasricha, who heads the committee on tricentenary celebrations of the Gurta Gaddi at Nanded, has raised the hackles of the Sikh community here, which has pointed out historical errors.

Pasricha is a former DGP of Maharastra. An interview given by him to the ‘Frontline’ magazine in its issue on October 24, 2008, has now been referred to the Akal Takht. Harinder Pal Singh, a Delhi-based member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Amritsar. He has shot off a letter to the Jathedar of the Akal Takht seeking “suitable action” against Pasricha.

The SGPC member has pointed out errors. In the interview Pasricha has been quoted as having said “….Our last Guru Gobind Singhji came to Nanded to ask the Marathas to help him strengthen his forces in order to fight the Mughal empire, which at that time was under the supremacy of Aurangzeb. Historians say Guru Gobind Singh was attacked by some of his own men and died owing to severe injuries in his back”.

Harinder Pal Singh says Aurangzeb died in February 1708, while Guru Gobind Singh visited Nanded in October 1708 hence the Mughal empire could not have been “under the supremacy of Aurangzeb”. Secondly he claims that Guru Gobind Singh was not attacked by his own men rather he was attacked by two Muslims. Thirdly, he says Bahadur Shah, a son of Aurangzeb, accompanied the 10th Sikh master.

Mumbai, November 13
Mumbai's civic body has come up with a plan to generate nearly 4 MW of power from a closed garbage dump, even while the open surface is turned into a nine-hole golf course.

Apart from doing its bit to improve Mumbai's power supply, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will also earn more than Rs 60 crore over ten years by way of carbon credits, according to civic officials.

The 20-acre garbage dump is located in the neighbourhood of Gorai in the city's outer suburbs which the government is working towards turning into an entertainment zone. On the other side of the creek nearby lies the Esselworld fun park where promoter Subash Chandra is planning a Special Economic Zone.

According to additional municipal commissioner R.A. Rajeev, the municipality decided to close the Gorai dumping ground as it was nearly filled up to capacity. Moreover, residential buildings had come

up around the place and it was no longer possible to dump garbage there.

Hence, the BMC decided to close the dumping ground as per norms prescribed by the United Nations. Gorai is the first dumping ground in the country to be closed by following the environment-friendly norms prescribed by the UN.

Under the closure process, which began last year, a one-meter high and seven-metre deep concrete wall has been built around the dump to prevent leaching from the landfill into the creek. Forty subterranean

wells, linked by a pipeline network, have been constructed inside the dump to transport methane gas generated by putrefying garbage to power

generating plant, according to civic officials.

They said the garbage on the surface had been compressed and levelled with a layer of construction debris. This would be followed by a 200 millimeter layer of geo-textiles that would bind the

surface together. High density polythene would be laid above the geo-textiles surface to prevent water from seeping into the garbage at the bottom of the surface.

In the final stage, the surface would be covered with more than two feet of fertile soil on which would be planted vegetation and greens for the golf course, said the officials. A section of the area would also be planted with mangroves.

New Delhi, November 13
The BJP here today enlisted the support of the AGP for the next Lok Sabha elections and vowed to put up a united fight against the ruling Congress.

Advani, accompanied by AGP president Chandra Mohan Patwari and BJP president Rajnath Singh and Rajya Sabha leader Jaswant Singh, formally announced here today the return of the AGP to the NDA fold and their intent to contest the next general elections together. The announcement, however, was made after long deliberations between BJP and AGP leaders at a meeting chaired by Jaswant Singh.

The leaders avoided saying much about the terms of agreement between the two parties. But the joint statement made it amply clear that the BJP and the AGP would peacefully negotiate with Bangaldesh-based ULFA terrorists rather than pursue them with guns or hold them under POTA, if they formed a government after the next general elections.

The statement said, “The BJP and the AGP will work together on basic issues like the implementation of the Assam accord, sealing of the Indo-Bangladesh border, issuing photo identity cards, restoration of peace through meaningful political dialogue with militant outfits and granting ST status to six communities in the state as recommended by the Assembly.”

The NDA government had hounded ULFA out of its hideouts in Bhutan, by persuading the Bhutan government to refuse shelter to them. Since then the BJP has supported the line of the Indian security forces, which charge ULFA of opening dialogue with the government only to regroup and re-arm itself.

On October 30, after the serial blasts in Assam killing 61 persons, Advani had blamed the weak UPA/Congress governments both at the Centre and in the state for the success of the terrorists and had pointed his finger at Bangladesh.

Advani and BJP’s main electoral plank against the UPA government is terrorism. They are already suffering a crisis of credibility with the expose of Sangh outfits’ involvement in terrorist activities. “This agreement with the AGP may further weaken Advani and BJP’s resolve to fight terrorism,” commented a political analyst.

Leh, November 13
The Assembly elections hold no meaning for residents of those villages of Ladakh, which are completely inaccessible by road, , as it is very difficult for them to travel to the polling stations.

There are six polling stations in Khalsi subdivision of the Leh Assembly constituency, which are completely inaccessible. Similar is the case with the Nobra constituency that has five polling stations but it takes two-three days to reach there.

It is not less than a Herculean task for candidates who are busy in campaigning and for the district elections authority to make poll arrangements.

The contesting candidates of the Congress and the LUTF have kept these polling stations away from their scheduled campaigning and entrusted the party workers of these villages under the command of the block president concerned.

General secretary of the District Congress Committee, Leh, Tsering Norboo said: “ Party workers headed by the block 
president are campaigning in these inaccessible villages.”

LUTF vice-president Tsering Wangdus said: “ The councillors concerned of the LAHDC are campaigning for these villages.”

Sources said the residents of Uleytokpo, a village on the Leh-Srinager national highway, have decided to boycott the elections as they had received no help from leaders during the summer flood.

To conduct polls in the six polling stations of the Leh Assembly segment, the district election authority has arranged helicopter to transport the polling staff and security personnel five days before the day.

New Delhi, November 13
Stretching the faith in their life partners from personal to political lives, a host of candidates in Delhi have opted for their spouse to be their covering candidates in the coming assembly polls.

Prominent among those who made their wives covering candidates were ministers and Congress candidates Arvinder Singh Lovely and Harun Yusuf and sitting MLAs Subhash Chopra, Mahabal Mishra and Ramesh Lamba.

From BJP, 28-year-old Nakul Bharadwaj who is contesting from Patparganj had his wife Ripudaman as his covering candidate.

Many of the candidates chose close relatives as their covering candidates like Speaker Ch Prem Singh, minister Raj Kumar Chouhan, Dayanand Chandela, Amrish Gautam, Murari Singh Panwar.

“In a surcharged political atmosphere you cannot afford to have an outsider as my covering candidate, so I chose a relative. There were instances that I was ditched by my close confidants and I will not take a chance,” a Congress candidate said. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Brain dead girl’s organs donated
TIRUCHIRAPALLI: The city-based ACB hospital has performed a multi-organ transplant from the cadaver of brain dead 5-year-old girl, according to hospital’s Nephrologist and transplant surgeon, S. Vel Arvind. He said here on Thursday that this was the second such transplant the hospital had carried out in the district this month. He said the girl, M. Subha Nandhini, was declared ‘brain dead’ after seven months of intensive treatment for a condition called ‘infiltrative brain stem glioma’. Her parents signed their acceptance to donate their daughter’s vital organs three days ago. — UNI