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Indian medical mission in Kabul off for now
Krishna all praise for embassy staff
Azad faces protest in Kolkata
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Now, Shiv Sena supremo trains guns on Governor
Air India’s all-women show on Women’s Day
Flats for jawans: Panel raps MoD for delay
GSLV launch vehicle test partial success
Ashram guilty for stampede: Probe
HC stays screening of Telugu film
India wants meeting on prisoners with Pak
Sergeant’s wife, daughters found dead
We’ll overthrow govt much before 2050: Kishenji
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Indian medical mission in Kabul off for now
New Delhi, March 6 In response to questions, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said the IMMs in Heart, Kandahar, Jalalabad and Mazar-e-Sharif were, however, functioning normally. “The Embassy of India and its other offices in Afghanistan continue to function normally in the face of extremely demanding and difficult circumstances,” the spokesman stressed. The medical mission in Kabul, comprising six doctors and five paramedics, was operating from the India-aided Indira Gandhi Child Care Hospital (in Kabul). The statement came amid reports from Kabul quoting the NSA as saying that India would not scale down its operations in Afghanistan in the wake of the February 26 attack. Government sources here said India would continue its development projects in Afghanistan but would like the Afghan authorities to make fool-proof security arrangements for nearly 4,000 Indians working in the embattled nation. The security of Indians figured prominently during Menon’s talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul today. Karzai is believed to have appreciated the Indian assistance to his war-ravaged country and reassured Menon of his government’s resolve to ensure security to all foreigners, particularly Indians. Menon placed before the Afghan President some fresh security proposals, which the Afghan authorities would look into. Seven Indians, including three major-rank officers of the Army, were killed in the February 26 attack on two guest houses frequented by Indians. Concerned about the safety of its nationals in Afghanistan after the latest attack, New Delhi has evolved certain proposals for their security. The proposals include setting up of protected venues where the Indians working on projects could be housed. There are also suggestions for deploying security personnel at places where Indians work.
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Krishna all praise for embassy staff
Bangalore, March 6 Interacting with journalists during a visit to a Passport Seva Kendra being set up in the city, Krishna said that the Taliban threat had failed to affect the morale of staffers at the Indian mission in Kabul. “During my visit to Kabul about four months back, I addressed Indian Embassy officials there on the last day of my stay. I asked if anyone wanted to return to India; to my very pleasant surprise, there was not a single person who wanted to return. That showed the resolve of the people in the foreign service,” Krishna said. Krishna said that National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, currently in Kabul, had met Afghan President Hamid Karzai and discussed recent attacks on Indians there. On the recent murder of the Indian child in Australia, Krishna said that he was awaiting a detailed report on the subject from the Indian Consul-General in Melbourne. On the flip-flop stand of US Af-Pak Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke regarding the February 26 attack on Indians in Kabul, Krishna said he would react to the issue in Parliament when it resumes on Monday. On a question regarding difficulty in raising funds from international agencies for development works in Arunachal owing to its disputed status, Krishna said that as long as funds were available internally, the government would prefer using its own resources for Arunachal and any other part of the country.
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Azad faces protest in Kolkata
Kolkata, March 6 Azad, accompanied by his deputy Dinesh Trivedi, was on visit to the hospital for making an on-the-spot assessment of the hospital conditions and the progress of work on the Rs 120-crore upgrading project to bring it on a par with New Delhi’s AIIMS. Funds for the project were sanctioned out of turn at the instance of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. As soon as the ministers entered the hospital premises, a group of aggrieved doctors, other employees and relatives of the patients staged a demonstration. They gheraoed the ministers and raised slogans against the state health minister demanding his resignation. They alleged Mishra was responsible for the present deplorable condition of government hospitals in the state. Chaos prevailed in the hospital for some time and at one stage the state minister was also heckled. But the police soon intervened and took the ministers to the chamber of the hospital superintendent. There, Azad and other dignitaries faced yet another ordeal due to sudden power failure that affected work at operation theatres and other emergency services. Afterwards, talking to mediapersons, Azad said he was disappointed at the hospital’s poor condition and the slow pace of development works. He was unhappy that such demonstrations could be held inside the hospital.
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Now, Shiv Sena supremo trains guns on Governor
"Who is this Shankarnarayanan to speak for outsiders? "These rubber stamp white elephants...are sticking their noses anywhere", an editorial attributed to Thackeray in the Sena mouthpiece Saamna said. Blasting the gubernatorial system, Thackeray accused the Congress of turning Raj Bhavan into a home for pensioners. "Governors living in the luxurious Raj Bhavan are cut off from the ground realities. These Congressmen come from outside on 'pension', enjoy the cool sea breeze and go away," the piece said. "Shankaranarayanan will also go away tomorrow. But today he is inviting migrants to Mumbai," Saamna said. Asking the Governor to take the migrants to his home state Kerala, Thackeray said Mumbai was not a 'dharamshala' for homeless people from other parts of the country. "I am demanding a permit system for migrants once again," Thackeray said. The Shiv Sena which has been demanding a permit system for decades unsuccessfully tried to resurrect the demand when it was in power in alliance with the BJP from 1994 to 1999. Thackeray further challenged the Governor to get himself appointed in Jammu and Kashmir and raise similar demands. "We are not allowed to work or live there though it is a part of India but no one is interested in saving it," the article said.
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Pak must dismantle terror camps: Antony
Thiruvananthapuram, March 6 “Unless these terrorist camps are destroyed, it is a difficult situation. We want some action (by Pakistan) to dismantle these camps,” he said. On infiltration from across the border into Jammu and Kashmir, Antony said the situation in the state had improved and tourists had started visiting it again. However, there were forces that still create trouble. “Normalcy is returning and tourists are coming. But some forces against India have not reconciled with the situation. So, they have redoubled their attempts to infiltrate but our forces have by and large checked their attempts,” Antony said. After Mumbai terror strikes, Indian forces had been maintaining an “eternal vigil.” It was due to the alertness of the defence forces that many attempts by terrorists to strike were foiled, he said. — PTI
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Air India’s all-women show on Women’s Day
New Delhi, March 6 The national carrier is also planning to create history of sorts by deploying an all-women pilots’ team to fly its “ultra long-haul” nonstop flight from Mumbai to the JFK to mark the centenary of the World Women’s Day The B777-200 long-range aircraft AI-141 flight will approximately be of 14 hours. A double set of all-women crew, supported by ladies of the National Aviation Company India Limited (NACIL), will operate the flight to New York. Civil Aviation ministry officials say this is the first time an all-women team would be in charge of an “ultra long-haul” international flight. Capt Rashmi Miranda and Capt Sunita Narula will be Commanders with Capt Swati Rawal and Capt Neha Kulkarni as First Officers. Harpreet A De Singh, Head-QMS, will carry out a Line Observation Safety Audit. The flight will be despatched by Nandita Deshpande and the Load and Trim Sheet prepared by Ferzin Kuruvilla. Several additional flights will also be operated by all-women crew on the day. On the Airbus A310, Capt Trisha Mohan will operate as the Commander of AI 815/816 Hyderabad-Daman-Chennai flight along with First Officer Capt Thanmai Papagari. Other flights from Mumbai to be operated by the ladies will be IC-686, IC-105 and IC-129. Capt. S. Deshmukh, Capt. Sangita Bangar and Capt. L. Nagrath will be the Commanders and Capt. Rikita Singh, Capt. Deepali Pratape and Capt. Aprajita Lal the First Officers. The flights will be despatched by Anjali Dhiman and the Load and Trim Sheet prepared by Archana Patki. In the Southern Region, Capt. Deepa will operate IC 573/574 accompanied by First Officer Capt. Sonia Jain on Chennai-Colombo-Chennai sector. The northern and eastern regions will also operate with all-women crew on various sectors. Neetu Sharma, an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME) on the B737-800, in Air India Express, will certify an aircraft from Sharjah. Doctors Varsha Sawant and Alka Mathur will carry out the breathalyzer tests at Mumbai. NACIL has more than 136 women pilots flying various international and domestic sectors. Women pilots, flight despatchers, aircraft maintenance engineers, safety and quality auditors, cabin crew, doctors, technical officers, simulator maintenance engineers, ground instructors for training pilots form part of a highly skilled, technically proficient team of women in Air India, officials add.
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Flats for jawans: Panel raps MoD for delay
New Delhi, March 6 The committee said that the ministry could not properly analyse the progress of works under Phase-I of the Married Accommodation Project (MAP) under which apartments are to be provided to jawans, airmen and sailors of the Army, Air Force and Navy, respectively. It said that the ministry - even at the time of seeking approval of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) for extending the probable date of completion of construction did not analyse the progress - as was borne out by the fact that works at certain stations continued to be plagued by delays beyond the extended date. The panel said that MoD did not pay adequate attention towards aspects relating to establishment of the main executive agency and the work procedures required to be put in place before embarking upon a project of such nature. The Cabinet Committee on Security gave permission on May, 2002 for construction of 61,658 dwelling units during Phase-I to be executed between 2002-03 and 2005-06. The number of dwelling units approved for construction under Phase-I was subsequently reduced to 58,391 and the probable date of completion was extended by three years to January 1, 2009. The Committee said it was “distressed” to find out that the construction of dwelling units under Phase-I had not progressed as planned. There had been a delay ranging from three months to over three years in completion of projects in as many as 79 out of 86 stations of Phase-I. The Committee, presenting its report in Parliament earlier this week, said it was “perturbed to note” that even after reducing the dwelling units for construction and the three-year extension, the Ministry could construct only 41,088 dwelling units as on October 31, 2009. This was a huge gap of 20,570 dwelling units in comparison to original Phase-I targets. The Committee further noted that the MoD had fixed March 31, 2012, as the probable date of completion of Phase II but had not drawn any time-schedule for the remaining phases. It had specifically desired that a realistic time schedule for expeditious completion of all four phases of MAP be drawn out without any intervening period among these. The Committee also said that the Ministry has neither prescribed any time frame for completion of the Married Accommodation Project in Jammu and Kashmir and the North East nor had it shown any progress.
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GSLV launch vehicle test partial success
Bangalore, March 6 “While the test was originally targeted for 200 seconds, it was stopped at 150 seconds since a deviation in one of the parameters was observed”, ISRO said in a statement here today. About 500 important parameters were monitored during the static test. The next static test for 200 seconds would be conducted after analysis of the data of the last test, the ISRO statement added. The GSLV Mk III launch vehicle is being developed for launching 4 tonne class of satellites in Geo-synchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). Measuring 17 meters in length and 4 meters in diameter, L110 is an earth storable liquid propellant stage with propellant loading of 110 tonnes. L110 stage uses two high-pressure Vikas engines in a clustered configuration and draws its heritage from the second stage of the PSLV and the GSLV and strap-ons of the GSLV. While in PSLV and GSLV the liquid stage with single engine configuration burns for 150 seconds, the GSLV-MkIII, having a twin engine configuration, requires burning for 200 seconds.
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Ashram guilty for stampede: Probe
Lucknow, March 6 Principal Secretary (Home) Kunwar Fateh Bahadur today briefed the media about the results of the preliminary probe submitted to the state government. “As per the preliminary report conducted by Allahabad Divisional Commissioner Ajay Kumar Upadhyaya, prima facie (Kripaluji Maharaj) ashram authorities are responsible for the mishap.” The inquiry found that the organisers had not made proper arrangements for controlling the crowd and the gate of the ashram, which had a structural fault, fell because of “lack of foresight and negligence” on their part, the report says. There was no public address system at the site that could have helped in controlling the crowd, the principal secretary said. However, he said no official action had been taken against police personnel. When pointed out that even senior administrative officials and politicians were disciples of Kripalu Maharaj, the Principal Secretary said that would not come in the way of taking action against those responsible for the mishap. Through a letter to the Additional Superintendent of Police, Pratapgarh, the Jagatguru Kripalu Parishad Trust had informed about the function taking place between 12 noon to 6 pm on March 4 and requested for 10 to 15 policemen. A report by engineers of the Public Works Department (PWD) and even treasurer of the trust Hiranmay Chatterji confirmed that there was some structural fault in the gate that collapsed that day. Responding to a question as to why the police had failed to assess the gravity of the situation, the Principal Secretary said it was a private “shradh ceremony and bhandara” and the organisers themselves were making the arrangements. |
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HC stays screening of Telugu film
Hyderabad, March 6 The movie “High School”, whose posters have already evoked strong protests from public, was to be released across the state yesterday. A division bench of the High Court, comprising Justice Ghulam Mohammad and Justice G Bhavani Prasad, admitted a petition demanding a ban on the film and ordered a stay on its release till March 9 when the case would be taken up for hearing. The petitioner, S Chakrapani, a consumer activist from Warangal town, contended that the movie bordered on perversion and its “obscene” scenes would leave a serious impact on the young minds. Some of the sleazy clippings of the film are already in circulation on the internet. Heroine of the film Kiran Rathore has done several item numbers in south Indian films while hero Karthik, who plays the role of a 13-year-old school boy, is a newcomer. The movie was directed by Narasimha Nandi, who recently won a national award for his film “1940 Lo Oka Graamam” (A Village in 1940) in the best regional film category. “I am yet to receive the copy of the court order,” the director said. Earlier, State Human Rights Commission chairman Justice B Subhashan Reddy had directed the Regional Film Censor Board to inquire into the theme of the film following alleged complaints about obscenity.
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India wants meeting on prisoners with Pak
New Delhi, March 6 "India had requested Pakistan in January this year, and again during the talks between Foreign Secretaries last month, to convey dates for the next meeting of India-Pakistan Judicial Committee, which is to be held in Pakistan," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vishnu Prakash said. He was responding to reports relating to unresolved humanitarian issues between India and Pakistan relating to prisoners and fishermen in each other's custody. "This proposal was made so that these humanitarian issues are addressed expeditiously. Pakistan's response is still awaited," the spokesperson added. Pakistan had released 100 Indian fishermen in December last year. There are more than 550 Indian fishermen and 400 Indian fishing boats in Pakistan's custody, besides 220 Indian prisoners. The release of prisoners and fishermen was among the issues discussed between Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir in New Delhi on February 25.
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Sergeant’s wife, daughters found dead
Shillong, March 6 The bodies have been sent for post mortem examination,” DIG (crime) Vivek Syiem said.— IANS 
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We’ll overthrow govt much before 2050: Kishenji Kolkata, March 6 "We will overthrow the Indian government much before 2050," Kishenji told PTI from an undisclosed location. He claimed the Maoists had their own army with the help of which it would overthrow the Indian state much before 2050. He said the Maoists had offered a 72-hour peace offer and "the question of regrouping does not arise. (Union Home Minister P) Chidambaram is trying to divert the attention of the people from the real problem." He said it was for the Centre to act on the peace offer. "We are fully prepared for a long-term revolution against the government and so we don't need any specific time to restructure ourselves." On Pillai's contention yesterday that some ex-army personnel were helping Maoists, he said: "We don't need the support of any armyman. For the last 30 years, we know the type of war we do better than any military officer." Reiterating that the repeated offer of talks by the Maoists had been turned down, Kishenji said: "We have repeatedly offered talks to the government but it has been turned down." Claiming that innocent people were being killed in the name of tackling Maoists, he said they (Maoists) were trying to save them from "state-sponsored terrorism". He also denied West Bengal DGP Bhupinder Singh's claim that arrested Maoist leader Telegu Dipak having links with ULFA and Kashmir militants. "A lot of rumours are being spread deliberately about the arrest of Telugu Dipak. He does not have any connection with any terrorist organisation." He said Dipak was not a member of the Maoist military commission as the ultras did not have any such organisation. "We have only a state committee, central committee and politburo." Dipak, he said, was only a state committee member who was in charge of Nandigram. —
PTI |
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External Affairs Minister SM Krishna today said that security of staff at the Indian Embassy in Kabul was being upgraded after repeated Taliban attacks on Indians.Interacting with journalists during a visit to a Passport Seva Kendra being set up in the city, Krishna said that the Taliban threat had failed to affect the morale of staffers at the Indian mission in Kabul. 
Kolkata, March 6
Mumbai, March 6
