New Delhi, December 5
India has raised the issue of construction of a road in the remote Demchok area of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir near the line of actual control (LAC) with China, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao confirmed here today. Beijing had recently objected to the road project recently.

The issue was taken up with the Chinese side at one of the flag meetings between the two countries at the ground level, Rao said, while briefing the media on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s three-day visit to Russia from tomorrow.

On reports that the construction work on the road project had been stopped following Beijing’s objection, the top Indian diplomat said: “I am not aware of any instruction having been passed on to the people working in that area to stop the construction of the road.”

She explained that the whole issue of the differing in perception of the LAC around Demchok had been taken up on many occasions with Beijing. “This is not a new issue that has cropped up in the discourse or relating to the boundary question between India and China.”

Both countries were working to resolve the border issue peacefully through dialogue, she claimed.

Regarding reports that top ULFA commander Paresh Baruah had now taken shelter in China and whether India had taken up this issue with Beijing, the Foreign Secretary said, “Paresh Barua is wanted in India for crime against the Indian people. We are in touch with neighbouring countries and expect all of them to behave responsibly.”

When her attention was drawn to Pakistan’s latest statement that India was involved in Balochistan and the proof would be disclosed at the appropriate time, she asserted that Islamabad had not given even a shred of evidence to substantiate its charge. “It is not our policy to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. We would also like other countries not to interfere in our affairs,” Rao said.

Meanwhile, she indicated that expansion of civil nuclear cooperation and an extended defence pact would top the agenda PM’s agenda during his visit to Moscow.

The agreement on civil nuclear cooperation, expected to be inked during the annual summit talks between Manmohan Singh and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday, will ensure continuation of Moscow’s support for the ongoing civil nuclear programme in India and will ensure any unforeseen disruption of fuel supply and technology from Russia for nuclear power projects in India.

Other highlights of the agreement are reprocessing consent rights for all future Russian reactors supplied to India. India will also be allowed to enrich Russian-supplied uranium up to 20 percent, according to the draft agreement.

New Delhi, December 5
Finding it increasingly difficult to control Pakistan’s ISI-backed smugglers from pumping fake currency into India besides carrying out other illegal activities, the government is now thinking of having a barbed wire fence on the highly porous India-Nepal border.

India already has a fence on the India-Pakistan border and also a partially completed fence on the India-Bangladesh border. The volume of the fake currency is worrying, said an official while confirming that the security forces wanted a fence. Finally, however, it was a political decision. India’s relations with Nepal are not so strained as those with Pakistan.

Sources say the border is largely unguarded. The Seema Surkasha Bal (SSB) guards the border and has its sentry posts at fixed distances and only small border pillars earmark the territory which has several kutcha pathways that have been used by local residents for centuries.

Patrolling the border is impossible and expensive, the sources said. A fence is the only answer. With the growing interest of China in Nepal, it is getting even more restive for India.

The figures of fake currency that was recovered in the past four years were tabled in Parliament this week. The racket and nexus is clear. In 2008 alone, fake currency worth 10.8 crore was seized in Uttar Pradesh alone. The state shares the longest of the 1,800 km-long India-Nepal border. The countrywide figure of seized fake notes is around Rs 25.79 crore. The states of Maharashtra (Rs 2.47 crore) and Andhra Pardesh (Rs 1.13) crore are the ones where fake currency had been seized in big numbers.

In 2009, between January and September, the security and police agencies had seized fake notes worth Rs 15. 31 crore. These figures may be just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Security agencies believe that hundreds of crores of rupees are pumped in every year. The Reserve Bank of India had refused to put a figure to the amount of fake currency circulating in India.

The ISI-backed fake note printing business is going on so well that fake notes look exactly like the genuine ones. The well-entrenched smugglers are now asked to pay half the sum of the face value of a fake note to buy it from the handlers based in Neapl. The agenda is to fund terror network in India and also derail the economy.

A high-level committee headed by the Home Secretary, GK Pillai, and comprising officials from central agencies has also been constituted to monitor and draw a comprehensive strategy to combat the fake currency menace. The CBI has been designated as the nodal agency for dealing with the fake currency racket.

New Delhi, December 5
The first four Russian-made MiG-29K fighters to be deployed on the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, formerly the Admiral Gorshkov, when it is inducted into the Indian Navy have been received in a knocked-down condition and will now be assembled in this country, an official said today. The jets arrived in the country on December 4, celebrated as Navy Day.

“The four jets, in a knocked-down condition, were delivered yesterday by an AN-132 aircraft. It will be a while before the jets are assembled and start flying,” an Indian Navy official said but refused to divulge the present location of the aircraft.

The jets were purchased by the Navy as part of a $1.5 billion deal signed with Russia in January 2004 for the Admiral Gorshkov. Of this $740 million was meant for the aircraft and the balance for the refitting of the carrier. Russians have now upped the price to between $2.2 billion and $2.9 billion and negotiations on this are currently underway.

The Navy will eventually be getting 12 MiG-29K single-seater aircraft and four MiG-29KUB twin-seat trainer aircraft, some in flyaway condition. The trainer version is similar to the single-seater but with a slightly reduced operational range.

The Navy has named its MiG-29K squadron the “Black Panthers”. As the 45,000-tonne Kiev class aircraft carrier, is scheduled to be delivered by 2012, the jets will undertake shore-based sorties from Goa.

The contract for the jets also stipulates the procurement of hardware for pilot training and aircraft maintenance, including flight simulators and interactive ground and sea-based training systems.

The Navy’s MiG-29Ks have arrester gear and stronger landing gear for carrier landings, folding wings and rust-proofing to prevent corrosion from salt water.

The aircraft features a fully digitised glass cockpit, improved engine protection against ingestion of foreign particles like birds, a multi-mode radar and increased range. The contract ensures that the Navy gets the entire spectrum of services, including a full mission simulator.

The MiG-29K will provide aerial cover for the carrier’s battle group, acquire air superiority and destroy sea-borne and ground-based targets with guided high-precision weapons during the day and at night and in any weather conditions. — IANS

Lucknow, December 5
AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi will symbolically begin his Mission 2012 next week by attending programmes across seven districts in the state and presiding over a day-long discussion at the UPCC headquarters where a rigorous review of dalit and development schemes would be undertaken.

After putting the Firozabad Lok Sabha seat in the party’s kitty last month the youth leader is determined to put the Congress firmly back on its feet in Uttar Pradesh before the 2012 election.

Rahul Gandhi’s two-day visit to UP starting December 7 includes a whirlwind visit to Sitapur, Bahraich, Aligarh, Aliganj (Etah) and Hardoi districts where he would participate in various programmes. After the UPCC meeting on the second day Gandhi would visit another two districts - Ambedkarnagar and Kanpur before winding up the visit.

The most significant event to be attended by Gandhi is a convention of PCC representatives at the UPCC headquarters at Lucknow where, among other things, the party's membership campaign would also be discussed.

The scope of the discussion can be gauged from the letter that UPCC President Rita Bahuguna Joshi has written to the district representatives expected to attend the meetings.

She has asked them to come fully prepared with complete reports regarding the details of the community meal and chaupals organised for dalits on Gandhi Jayanti in their respective districts along with the location where night halts were scheduled. The representatives are expected to bring records of the points raised during the meetings with dalits and the follow up action undertaken by them.

In this changed political scenario of the Congress the representatives also have to provide specific particulars of steps taken for the development of the people under NREGA and other welfare schemes. They have to give details of job cards facilitated and guidance given to the unemployed by helping them filling form, the name of officers met for this purpose, the number of RTI applications filed to gather relevant development information and cross check irregularities, the number of dharna and demonstrations held to support pro people issues.

That is not all the district representatives also have to bring the names of villages/ mohallas under each booth and the names of people enrolled here during the ongoing membership drive.

Patna, December 5
A lawsuit has been filed in a court here charging Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan with violating the Disabilities Act through his latest film “Paa” in which he plays a 13-year-old boy suffering from progeria, which accelerates the ageing process. Big B has been accused of poking fun at people with disabilities.

The case has been filed by Patna High Court lawyer Shruti Singh in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate under The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. It has also been filed against “Paa” director R Balkrishna.

“I filed a case in the court demanding a probe into whether “Paa” violated the act or not,” Shruti said today.

“My stand is simple: If it violated the Disability Act, the authorities should act against the producer and actors of the film for making a joke of disabled people,” she added. She said the court will hear the case next week. — IANS

Mumbai, December 5
It’s an innovative idea but threatens to raise some stink. The civic administration of Mumbai has okayed construction of waterless urinals in different parts of the city to tackle water woes propelled by severe shortage of rainfall this year.

With a 15 per cent water cut across the city that is likely to double

in the coming summer, the civic authorities are hard pressed to come up with innovative solutions. “We plan to construct such urinals in different parts of the city after a pilot project has turned out to be a success,” said acting Municipal Commissioner RA Rajeev said. The BMC has constructed a waterless urinal near the Gateway of India. According to Rajeev, studies conducted by the civic body showed that a waterless urinal saved as much as 10,000 litres of water per day.

A second such facility is coming up near Juhu Beach and more are to follow at locations frequented by the public, according to the BMC. Interestingly, the BMC officials claim that the waterless urinals would remain odour-free despite water not being used to flush them. As per the technology developed in America and introduced here by Sulabh International, a small cartridge containing some liquid chemicals, is fitted on the urinal to render human waste odourless.

Each cartridge costs around Rs 2,000 and is effective for about three months. However, there’s a glitch. The urinal needs to be cleaned periodically.

Explaining the functioning of such an urinal, a BMC engineer points out that the cartridge contains a biodegradable sealant that combines with air to prevent the discharged urine from being converted into gas which emits the foul odour. The chemicals in the cartridge and their composition are patented by an American technology provider. But how effective this technology would be, only time will tell.

Mumbai’s civic body is expected to hand over maintaining the facility to Sulabh International, which is providing the technology in many cities.

Bhopal, December 5
Two girls from a city school have been selected from Madhya Pradesh to be a part of the Indian official delegation for the Copenhagen Climate Summit scheduled to be held from December 7.

The students, from Carmel Convent Senior Secondary School — Ramsha Sajid (16) of Standard X and Aadya Dube (17) of Standard XII — are likely to get a chance to express their views in the UN meet at Copenhagen, in which more than 100 nations are expected to participate, to agree on a new global climate deal to succeed the Kyoto Protocol in 2013.

Apart from Rashma and Aadya, two other girl students from India - Deeksha Singh (20) from Patna Women's College and Ruchika Pokhriya (19) of Acharya Narendra Dev College in Kalkaji (New Delhi) - have also been chosen to be part of the Indian delegation for the summit among other dignitaries.

The four students were winners in the national essay writing competition for Youth on Climate Change organised by the WWF-India recently and their names for the Indian delegation was announced by the Union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh in New Delhi yesterday.

Sujata Shrivastava, a lecturer of mathematics with Carmel Convent, told PTI that she was proud of the two girl students as they have brought fame to their school and Madhya Pradesh.

Sujata said that more students from the school may have been selected to go to Copenhagen but they did not have their passports ready with them.

"I am proud that the two girls have now become a matter of pride not only for Madhya Pradesh but for the whole India," she said. — PTI

Jaipur, December 5
With the H1N1 death toll mounting to 63 in Rajasthan, the state government is planning to invoke the Epidemic Diseases Act to tackle the disease in Jaipur and Jodhpur.

Though the H1N1 virus has spread its tentacles in almost all parts of the state, Jaipur and Jodhpur districts have been worst affected. While Jodhpur has reported a maximum of 25 H1N1 deaths, besides 268 positive cases, Jaipur has reported 18 H1N1 deaths and 1,231 positive cases. Overall, 1,756 H1N1 positive cases have come to light in the state. According to officials of the health department, the Act will be enforced in the two cities very soon. Besides, the department also intends to undertake various activities aimed at sensitising the people about the disease in the state. — TNS

Hyderabad, December 5
Hit by a violent statehood agitation, the Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh was on the boil after the health of the fasting leader K Chandrasekhar Rao worsened today, fuelling fears that he may slip into coma.

As the indefinite fast by Rao, the president of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), entered seventh day today, his health showed signs of deterioration, prompting the hospital authorities to shift him to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) here.

“I will continue the fast till the Central government grants statehood for Telangana. I am prepared to sacrifice my life for the cause,” the TRS chief has been telling the visitors calling on him at the hospital. Amid high drama, he was arrested on November 29, while on way to his hometown Siddipet to undertake fast unto death. 
Remanded to a two-week judicial custody by a court in Khammam, the maverick Telangana leader was yesterday shifted to the state capital following deterioration of his health. A 30-member team of doctors has been constantly monitoring his health condition.

Tension gripped Telangana, comprising 10 districts, including the state capital, following warning by doctors that Rao might slip into coma if he did not end the fast immediately. Tempers ran high among TRS activists and students, who have been the main source of support for the statehood movement.The agitators went berserk in Hyderabad and several other Telangana cities, targeting the public and private properties and forcing shutdowns. The TRS gave a 48-hour bandh call, beginning tonight.

Hyderabad has been put on high alert in the wake of growing violent protests. Hyderabad City Commissioner of Police B Prasada Rao told reporters this evening, that 50 platoons of Armed Police, few companies of Rapid Action Force and 200 civil police apart from the local force have been deployed across the city to prevent any untoward incidents.

The TRS held an emergency politburo meeting to take stock of the situation in the wake of refusal by its founder president to call off the fast and the rapidly deteriorating law and order situation. The mood among the university students and statehood supporters across the region was turning belligerent by the hour.
The Congress government came under intense pressure, not only from TRS but also from a section of pro-Telangana leaders within the party who have been rooting for a favourable decision on the demand for creation of the new state.

The state Congress chief D Srinivas is leaving for Delhi tomorrow to brief the party President Sonia Gandhi about the political developments.The ruling party is under pressure to offer a “face-saving formula” for TRS chief, its one-time ally, to end the fast. Meanwhile, the ministers from Telangana region addressed a letter to Sonia Gandhi, urging her to take a decision on the statehood demand. “The whole Telangana is burning. If anything untoward happens to KCR, this government will be held responsible,” the TRS leader E Rajender said.

Meanwhile, NIMS Director Dr Prasada Rao said the TRS chief had been shifted to ICU for constant monitoring and treatment. 

Kadapa (AP): Vijayalakshmi, widow of late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, was today declared elected unopposed from Pulivendula Assembly seat in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh. Election observer Manish Moudgil announced that Vijayalakshmi was elected unanimously from Pulivendula assembly constituency. The seat was previously held by her late husband Rajasekhara Reddy who died in a helicopter crash on September 2. — PTI

Chennai, December 5
Rejecting the Liberhan Commission's indictment of it in the Babri mosque demolition in 1992 in Ayodhya, the VHP today said it was not a planned destruction but a "spontaneous decision" taken by the karsevaks.

International president of the VHP, Ashok Singhal told reporters that people had gone there for the construction of a Ram temple on “our plot of 2.77 acres of land” away from the disputed structure.

“There was no choice for the people since there was no court verdict (which was not delivered as expected). When they could not construct they chose to demolish. It was a spontaneous decision (and) nobody expected the demolition to be completed in five hours as the 16th century building came down in five hours. Nobody planned it,” Singhal claimed.

Namaz (Muslim prayers) was not held there since 1934, he said, adding that, therefore, it was an “illusion that a mosque was brought down”. The incident only resulted in Hindu-Muslim frictions, he said.

He called for a legislation in Parliament for building temples in Ram Janma Bhoomi, Krishna Janma Bhoomi and Kashi Vishwanath. — PTI

Chennai, December 5
The Tamil Nadu government has deployed police force to protect the statues of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi throughout the state, fearing retaliatory attacks by LTTE supporters, who are agitated over the removal of Velupillai Prabhakaran’s posters and banners by former Union Minister EVKS Elangovan on Friday.

Heavy police protection has been provided at residences of Congress leaders and party’s offices to avert attacks by Tamil nationalist groups and Tiger supporters. Police are guarding Rajiv Gandhi’s statues day and night to prevent possible damage or desecration, which will raise a political storm for the ruling DMK, which is caught between the Congress and Tamil sentiments.

While Congress leaders are demanding stern action against LTTE supporters, Tamil nationalist outfits are demanding the arrest of Elangovan. Sri Lankan Tamils Protection Movement co-ordinator P Nedumaran, in a strongly worded statement, referred to Elangovan’s defeat at the hands of pro-Tiger MDMK by over one lakh votes and said, “People of Tamil Nadu will come forward to tame Elangovan, if the state government failed to take action against him”.

Nedumaran, referring to the verdict of the Madras High Court, which was later upheld by the Supreme Court, paving the way for his release, after 17 months of imprisonment under POTA, said mere expression of support to a banned organisation was not illegal and putting up posters of Prabhakaran too was not illegal.

Elangovan should be arrested for taking law into his hands and tearing the posters. Nedumaran, a TNCC general secretary under former Prime Miniser Indira Gandhi, before he took to the Tamil nationalist route, said many Congress leaders lost in Tamil Nadu due to people’s anger against the party on the Lankan Tamils issue and warned that Elangovan’s actions would only bury the party in the state.

The state government on Sunday arrested three persons on charges of hurling petrol bombs at Elangovan’s residence.

Around 12 persons have been arrested throughout the state for putting up banners and posters of Prabhakaran on Heroes’ Day to salute the dead cadres of LTTE on Friday.

Five petrol bombs were hurled at Elangovan’s residence on Friday, hours after Elangovan, along with a group of Congress workers, tore the posters and banners put up at Erode to commemorate the Heroes’ Day, the death anniversary of first Tiger cadre Shankar alias Sathyanathan in 1982.