New Delhi, August 13
With the Government seeming to break ice with the Opposition on the Nuclear Liability Bill, 2010, it might bring this much awaited Bill in the current monsoon session of the Parliament.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, currently examining the Bill, plans to table its report next week with its chairman T Subbirami Reddy claiming today, “I am confident that the report will be tabled on Wednesday.”

But Reddy’s claims apart, the government is frantically working to develop a consensus and facilitate an early passage of this Bill, considered crucial for starting international nuclear commerce and operationalise six nuclear plants which are in the pipeline. These are in Haripur, West Bengal, Kowada in Andhra Pradesh, Jaitapur in Maharashtra, Kudankulam in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, Kakrapar in Gujarat and Rawatbhata in Rajasthan.

Interceding on behalf of the Government Pranab Mukherjee discussed the issue with top brass of the BJP yesterday and today he invited over Left leaders to his chamber to see how far their views could be accommodated.

The BJP had yesterday asked Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan who articulated the Government stand on this Bill, to remove the cap on the liability clause and remove the precondition of the need to sign the Convention of Supplementary Compensation (CSC). Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal was also present on the occasion.

Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj also said, “We asked Prithviraj Chavan whether they planned to have some private operators to operate nuclear plants in India, otherwise where was the need to put a cap on liability?” she wondered aloud and added that the minister assured her that “At least for the next 50-60 years there is no chance. After that who knows who will be in government?”

She also said that Pranab Mukherjee felt that most of BJP points could be looked into and added that the BJP too could take a second look at the Bill if it is redrafted and “Our point of view accommodated. We told him where is the hurry you hold the standing committee report for another week.”

The Government immediately complied with this request and now it seems the BJP was also willing to walk half the way, indicated BJP member of the Standing Committee SS Ahluwalia today.

The Left too raised by and large the same objections to the Nuclear Liability Bill as the BJP did yesterday.

New Delhi, August 13
A day after the Supreme Court expressed anguish over rotting foodgrains, Food Minister Sharad Pawar today asserted that reports in this regard are “quite exaggerated”. “All reports on rotting of foodgrains are not actually correct and quite exaggerated. There are only certain cases of damage and we have suspended some officials,” Pawar said in the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour.

The apex court had yesterday directed the government to distribute foodgrains to the hungry as a measure to overcome the storage problem. “The foodgrains are rotting. You can look after your own people. As a part of a short-term measure, distribute it to the hungry for free,” the court observed.

Pawar’s comments about the “exaggerated” reports drew sharp criticism from the Opposition parties. “It is clear ...This government does not care for the common man,” CPM Politburo member Brinda Karat said outside Parliament. BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy also described Pawar’s remark as “absurd” and said that the minister was in a “denial mode” both on inflation and rotting of foodgrains due to lack of storage space.

Just two days back Pawar had conceded in the Rajya Sabha itself that the rotting of foodgrains was a disturbing fact. He said that over 11,700 tonne of foodgrains worth Rs 6.86 crore were found “damaged” in government godowns.

Answering questions today, Pawar said the government has prepared a comprehensive plan to create 149.4 lakh tonne of storage space to prevent damage of foodgrains. These will be built by Food Corporation of India (FCI) through private entrepreneurs and central and state warehousing corporations.

The deadline for completion of construction of godowns for private entrepreneurs would be one year, while that of godowns with railways sidings would be two years from the date of agreement, he said.

Bids invited under a new scheme for construction of godowns will be processed fast, he said.

FCI, the nodal agency for the procurement and distribution of foodgrains, had 57.8 million tonne in its godowns at the start of this month. However, as per buffer norms, it should have had 31.9 million tonne as on July 1.

New Delhi, August 13
The United States has warned its citizens of a continuing threat of terrorism in India in a report that comes on the eve of India’s Independence Day.

The ‘Worldwide Caution’, released by the US State Department, is, however, being seen as part of a routine exercise undertaken by Washington to update information on the security threat to American nationals across the globe.

“In India, there is a continuing threat of terrorism as attacks have randomly targeted public places frequented by Westerners, including luxury and other hotels, trains, train stations, markets, cinemas, mosques and restaurants in large urban areas,’’ the State Department said.

Current information suggested that Al-Qaeda and affiliated organisations continue to plan terrorist attacks against US interests in multiple regions, including Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. These attacks might employ a wide variety of tactics, including suicide operations, assassinations, kidnappings, hijackings and bombings.

US citizens have been advised to maintain a high-level of vigilance, be aware of local events, and take appropriate steps to bolster their personal security.

Referring to Pakistan, which celebrates its Independence Day tomorrow, the report said a number of extremist groups continue to target US citizens and other Western interests and Pakistani officials. Suicide bombing attacks continue to occur throughout the country on a regular basis, often targeting government authorities such as mosques and shopping areas.

About war-ravaged Afghanistan, it said remnants of the former Taliban regime and the Al-Qaeda terrorist network, as well as other groups hostile to International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)/NATO military operations remained active. There was an ongoing threat to kidnap and assassinate US citizens and NGO workers throughout the country.

Indian officials said there was nothing new in the State Department report. The US administration had been issuing travel advisories to its citizens from time to time. However, the officials were not enthused by the timing of the ‘Worldwide caution’ since the Independence Day celebrations are round the corner.

“We are already in a high state of alert but such advisories bring undue pressure on our forces,” one official said.

New Delhi, August 13
Nearly a month after the failure of his talks with Shah Mehmud Qureshi in Islamabad, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna today spoke to his Pakistani counterpart and offered an assistance of $ 5 million for provision of relief material from India for flood victims in Pakistan.

“In a telephone conversation, Krishna conveyed to Qureshi this gesture of solidarity with the people of Pakistan, in their hour of need,” an External Affairs Ministry statement said.

Krishna also conveyed to Qureshi on behalf of the people and the Government of India his deepest sympathies and condolences to the people and the Pakistan Government on the natural disaster.

Official sources said the ‘brief’ conversation between the two centered around the floods in Pakistan. No other issue came up during the meeting.

However, the very fact that the two ministers spoke to each other is being seen in diplomatic circles as a significant step in the direction of ending the acrimony that had clouded the bilateral relationship after their July 15 meeting in Islamabad.

New Delhi, August 13
The Congress core group, chaired by party president Sonia Gandhi, discussed the growing controversy over the Commonwealth Games at its meeting this evening and decided to leave it to the government to tackle the issue following discussions with sports minister MS Gill.

Faced with all-round clamour that the man in the eye of the storm, Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi be sacked, the government is faced with the twin problem of ensuring the smooth conduct of the Games and insulating itself from the corruption charges which are currently flying around in connection with the upcoming event. Worried on both these counts, a vocal section in the Congress has been pressing the government to set up an overarching oversight committee for the organisation of the Games. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to discuss these issues with Gill.

However, Kalmadi is unlikely to be removed now as the Centre’s top priority is to focus on the Games. A supervisory body, it is being argued, would help rein in Kalmadi and also coordinate between the various agencies involved in the organisation of the Games.

The supervisory panel, it is stated, may be headed by Cabinet secretary KM Chandrashekhar since he has been conducting periodic reviews on the prepaprations being undertaken by the different agencies.

Chennai, August 13
With a report of an antibiotic resistant superbug originating from India creating an uproar, its lead author has dismissed as hypothetical the conclusion that the bacteria was transmitted from the country and said some interpretations were made without his knowledge.

KarthikeyanKumarasawamy said there was nothing to worry or fear about the superbug, termed New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamese.

He also said some interpretations in the report were written without his knowledge. "Without my knowledge some of the interpretations were written in the report", he said.

The Department of Health in the UK has already put out an alert on the issue, raising the hackles of the Indian medical fraternity.

The Union Health Ministry also came out with a hard-hitting statement against the report, saying the contents of the article present a "frightening picture" which is not supported by any scientific data.

"The media has speculated the whole matter. That the bacteria was transmitted from our country is just hypothetical. Unless we analyse samples from across the globe to confirm its presence, we can only speculate", Erode-based Karthikeyan said.

Karthikeyan, research student at A L Mudaliar Postgraduate Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, co-authored the research article with Timothy Walsh, published in 'Lancet'.He said the NDM-1 bacteria was not a big issue and that the "bacteria was not that big and vulnerable as H1NI, which currently exists." — PTI

New Delhi, August 13
The glitzy new terminal T3 at the Indira Gandhi International Airport is not yet ready to take on full-scale operations. Domestic operations are likely to shift to T3 only after mid-September and not on August 27, as earlier planned by Delhi International Airport Ltd. (DIAL), due to, among other problems, erratic power and water supply at the airport.

The decision was taken by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Thursday evening after reviewing the preparedness of various stakeholders for effecting the transition. The position will be reviewed in mid-September, following which a decision on shifting domestic operations to T3 will be taken.

One of largest airport terminals in the world with an integrated facility for both international and domestic flights, T3 was formally inaugurated on July 3 by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Following this, DIAL carried out a series of proving flights on July 14 and 15. International operations were shifted to the new facility on July 27.

Passengers are facing several problems, including a long wait at the baggage retrieval section despite the state-of-art baggage system put in place by developers. Several passengers were reported to have even missed connecting flights due to delays. An unclear route to the new terminal was among other problems faced by passengers.

After reviewing the situation, the high-level team of officials from the Civil Aviation Ministry felt erratic power supply was affecting sophisticated baggage handling and security equipment. Besides, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) had also not been able to keep its commitment of water supply at the Airport.

It was felt that for reliable and un-interrupted power supply to meet extra electricity requirement arising out of added domestic operations from T3, commissioning of the impending 220 KVA sub-station of Delhi Transco Ltd. (DTL) was an inevitable requirement. Though the sub-station was to be commissioned by July 31 as per earlier plan, the DTL representative stated it would be ready only by September 15.

It was also observed that DJB had not been able to provide the supply of three MLD water to airports as committed earlier. The water supply at the airport continued to be erratic and much less than required. Regarding the alternative connectivity from the present domestic side of the airport, the team assessed that the underpass connecting the Dwarka junction to the Central Spine at Mahipalpur that leads to T3 also needed to be complete before domestic operations could be shifted to T3. This road will help ease traffic congestion as currently there is only one approach to T3 which is via NH-8.

Lucknow, August 13
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has rapped the Mayawati government over the knuckles for pulling down a sports stadium here to make room for the expansion of the Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthall where statues of Dalit icons have been installed.

The CAG report, tabled before the state Assembly, described as “improper” the decision of the government to demolish the stadium and its adjoining research centre-cum-museum buildings built at a combined cost of Rs 32.98 crore barely six-10 years after they were built.

As per the report, the stadium was built by the state government in 1998 on a 15-acre plot in the city's posh Gomti Nagar at a cost of Rs 6.75 crore. It had a multi-purpose sports hall with wooden flooring, a gymnasium, an Olympic size swimming pool with filtration plant; four synthetic tennis courts and a 200-bedded sports hostel among other facilities.

Four years later in 2002, a research center-cum-museum was raised on an adjoining seven-acre plot at a cost of Rs 26 crore. Its infrastructure included an administrative building and library.

The report has also cast doubt on the recommendation of a technical committee constituted for the demolition. “The process involving constitution of the Technical Committee, obtaining its recommendations by the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) and issue of demolition order by the government was completed in a single day,” observes the CAG report.

The CAG also clearly disapproved of the government's decision to install statues after pulling down the stadium and research centre.

New Delhi, August 13
A Delhi court has rejected CBI’s report giving a clean chit to former IPS officer Amod Kanth in the Uphaar cinema hall fire incident, saying there was sufficient evidence to prosecute him for allowing extra seats in the hall where 59 movie-watchers died in a blaze in 1997.

“The investigation report of the CBI is hereby rejected. Let the summons be issued against Kanth for August 20,” Metropolitan Magistrate Sanjeev Kumar said.

The court said there was sufficient material to prosecute Kanth under Section 304A (causing death by rash and negligent act), 337 (causing hurt by an act which endangers human life) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by an Act which endangers human life) of the IPC.

The court also observed that there were prima-facie evidence to prosecute Kanth under the Cinematograph Act.

Reacting to the order, Neelam Krishnamurthy, president of Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT), said: “Our stand has been vindicated. It was a long overdue decision against the errant police officer.” — PTI

New Delhi, August 13
Noisy scenes were witnessed in the Rajya Sabha on Friday with members from the opposition parties protesting that many times replies to their questions were way off the mark. Rajiv Pratap Rudy of the BJP complained during Question Hour that on many occasions written replies given by ministers were not in sync with the question asked by the member.

Referring to the question related to guarding of unmanned railway crossings, Rudy said the written reply did not match the poser. His point was also accepted by Chairman Hamid Ansari. “I have noted the point,” he said.

Members belonging to BJP, SP and BSP expressed displeasure over the response given by the Minister of State for Railways, E Ahammed, leading to noisy scenes.

As soon as the House met for the day, Ansari asked members to stick to the (main) question and not deviate from the original point while asking supplementary questions. To this, Naresh Agarwal of the BSP said it would limit the rights of the members. “Be liberal with us. Instead, you should be tough with the ministers,” Agarwal suggested.

Jaipur/Sawai Madhopur, August 13
Even as the government is content after the completion of tiger relocation process in the Sariska Tiger Reserve, the Ranthambore National Park is facing a problem of plenty and experts feel that it is high time to initiate measures like extending the core area of the sanctuary.

Presently the park has around 40 big cats, as against its capacity of accommodating only 30 tigers. Though the park is spread over 1,000 sq km, its core area measures around 400 sq km. Experts believe that the strength of tigers in the park can be doubled in the next decade if the Forest Department provides proper security to the growing number of wild cats by increasing the core area of the reserve.

According to them, one way of doing so is by boosting the connectivity of Kaila Devi Sanctuary (in Karauli) and Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary (near Kota) with the Ranthambhore National Park so that the tigers can roam in their natural habitat. Though the Forest Department has recently included Baler range of Kaila Devi Sanctuary in the core area of the park, experts say the core area should be doubled to provide adequate space to the tigers.

According to Dharmendra Khandal of Tiger Watch (Ranthambore), Kaila Devi Sanctuary, with 51 per cent area of Ranthambhore tiger reserve, offers a great opportunity, which should be explored immediately.

Raghuraj Singh, honorary wildlife warden of the Keoladeo National Park, also feels that Kaila Devi is a natural habitat of tiger. “The development of core areas into Kaila Devi Sanctuary and developing water holes in the forest is needed. Also, protection will have to be ensured to the prey base in the sanctuary so that tiger can make its territory in new areas. The government should also contemplate developing old routes connecting the tiger reserves of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh seriously,” he added.

New Delhi, August 13
India will launch a dedicated forest satellite in 2013, which will monitor the country's forest cover on a daily basis, Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh recently told the Rajya Sabha.

He said India was adding to its green cover, which should be monitored on a day-to-day basis instead of the current periodic exercise. A family of forestry satellites would be launched to make real time monitoring possible, he added. Replying to supplementary questions, the minister said country had gained over three million hectares of forest in the last 10 years. "India is one of the few countries where green cover is increasing. In Brazil, three million hectares of forest is cleared every year but in India we have gained three million hectares of forest in the last 10 years," Ramesh said.

While replying to supplementaries on a question on protection of environment, Ramesh objected to calling the native tribal of Andaman and Nicobar as “primitive tribes”. “We must stop using the term primitive, use the term original inhabitants,” he said, adding that Great Andamanese, Onges, Jarawas, Sentinelese and Shompens were identified tribes from the islands.

“They are away from the mainstream. They are original Negroids who migrated from Africa, how the local administration saves them is a challenge,” he said, stressing that the big challenge was to ensure livelihood and protection to endangered tribal groups.“Their numbers have come down to around 2,000”.

Ramesh said the Island Development Authority led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was also looking at the issue of providing protection to them.

Guwahati, August 13
Dealing with a writ petition filed by a ‘deported’ Bangladeshi migrant, Mohd Ataur Rahman, the Gauhati High Court has termed the entire machinery and process of deportation of illegal Bangladeshi migrants farcical.

Taking serious note of the manner and method in which Bangladeshis are deported from India and could come back to India to invoke writ jurisdiction, Justice BK Sharma of the High Court in an order dated August 5, 2010, observed, “The entire machinery, including Foreigners’ Tribunals, are mere mockery and no useful purpose has been served in establishing Foreigners’ Tribunals and spending crores in the name of detection and deportation of the foreign nationals.”

The court directed both the Centre and state government of Assam to file their counter affidavit explaining their stand and position regarding the content of the writ petition filed by the deported Bangladeshi national by August 26 next.

The court also expressed its displeasure with both the governments for their failure to deal with the queries raised by the court in its earlier order dated May 19, 2010, in connection with the same case. The petitioner in his writ petition stated that he was left by the police deep inside a jungle along India-Bangladesh border near Karimganj on the night of November 20, 2008, after his arrest on November 14 that year.

In pursuant of an earlier court order the government of Assam through an affidavit on July 20, 2010, stated that the petitioner was pushed back to Bangladesh on November 17, 2008, and that the petitioner re-entered India and filed the instant writ petition. Regarding the petitioner’s stand that he was released deep inside a jungle along the Border, the Assam government stated that the Border Security Force (BSF), which is in charge of guarding the Indo-Bangladesh border, would have to furnish explanation and not the state government.

Peeved at the way the state government of Assam and Centre have responded to queries raised by the court so far in respect of the case, Justice Sharma observed, “If the Union and the state government are unperturbed in respect of magnitude of problem being faced by the state of Assam from unabated illegal influx of foreign nationals (Bangladeshi nationals), they should say so by filing an affidavit.”

Chennai, August 13
A modern Robin Hood, who defrauded religious institutions to the tune of several lakhs of rupees and spent the money to help the poor was arrested here.

R Prakash, a mechanical engineer, hailing from Madurai, in south Tamil Nadu, had cheated a few ashrams and spent the money to help the underprivileged to get education, medical treatment and donated money to NGOs to carry out social work, the police said.

The cyber crime cell of Chennai police arrested him following a complaint by a Chennai-based ashram. The mechanical engineer was brought to the city from Elur, a village in Andhra Pradesh, where he was living with a widow. The 39-year-old graduate, who met the widow with two children had sympathised with her for her pathetic condition and had married her.

According to the police, Prakash decided to take the route to crime after his father was cheated by a self-styled godman in his native town of Madurai. His father Rajagopal lost more than Rs two lakh to the godman who offered to help the family tide over their problems.

The arrested engineer said, "my father who received about Rs 3.5 lakh when he retired from his company as retirement benefits, spent most of it on the godman, hoping that his problems would be solved. But nothing was solved. My father fell and died within six months. My mother also died six months later. I was left all alone in the world, since I was their only child".

Prakash then decided to make money by cheating ashrams and godmen. He started searching for them on internet and then sent them mails, offering to donate vehicles for their service projects. He would ask them to deposit money in a bank account towards payment of road tax, insurance and conveyance. Some of the ashrams responded and Prakash collected money from them.

However, when the police cross-checked his expenses, they came to know that he had hardly used any money he got from ashrams for himself. He had been distributing this money for medical expenses and school fees for the poor. Interestingly, Prakash had returned the money to some Ashrams, when he found that they were funding money for social causes.

In one case, he returned the money to one NGO which took care of the blind children.