Bangalore/Chennai, Oct 10
Even as Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa would have to prove the majority of his government tomorrow, Governor HR Bhardwaj today told Speaker KG Bopaiah not to disqualify any MLA before the trust vote. Also, the 11 rebel BJP legislators held their ground rallying behind JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy.

Notably, it was another uphill task for embattled Yeddyruappa, already facing the heat of Kumaraswamy's machinations, when the Governor directed the Speaker to maintain status quo on the House strength as on October 6 before the rebels withdrew support reducing the Government to a minority.

With the numbers game becoming very critical, the ruling party will be still in minority being six short of the magic mark of 113 on the basis of the existing strength and if the 11 BJP rebels and five Independents stick to their stand.

Kumaraswamy said in Chennai his party and Congress would work together to see the fall of the BJP government during the crucial trust vote tomorrow.

Raj Bhavan sources said the Governor in his letter to the Speaker directed that the strength of the 224-member Assembly, which stood as on Oct 6, should be maintained and that all legislators should be allowed to take part in the confidence vote exercise.

The directive, which effectively barred any action being taken against any MLA, came as a dampener to the ruling BJP, which had been hoping to get a favourable order on the disqualification of 11 rebel MLAs, against whom Yeddyurappa has filed a complaint under provisions of the anti-defection law after they withdrew support to his government.

Bhardwaj in his letter said in the interest of a free and fair floor test, no attempt should be made to change the character or configuration of the House after it has been summoned for the purpose.

“Any attempt to change the character or configuration of the House in the run up to the vote of confidence motion is bound to vitiate the proceeeings,” he noted.

The Governor cautioned that "any result obtained by such a vitiative proceedings will not be acceptable". The first ever BJP government in the South, tottering under revolt of the dissidents who have declared their intent to go against the trust vote tomorrow, had been toying with the idea of bringing down the effective strength of the House to ensure a smooth sailing for itself during the trust vote.

Bhardwaj, in a clear warning, said if there was any alteration in the numbers ignoring his directive, his decision would be final. He said the process of Yeddyurappa seeking the trust vote tomorrow to prove his government's majority as per his direction should be held as per law.

In the 224-member house, BJP has 117 members, followed by Congress 73, JDS 28 and Independents six. A number of 113 is required to prove majority in the House. The government was reduced to a minority after 14 BJP MLAs and five Independents withdrew support. Three BJP MLAs have since returned to the party fold.

Sacked Fisheris Minister Anand Asnotikar claimed that the dissident MLAs were all "united". Kumaraswamy, who is in Chennai to hold parleys with dissident BJP MLAs, told reporters, "Both JD(S) and Congress are in the opposition. We are together going to defeat BJP." — PTI

New Delhi, October 10
After achieving a high with the judicial victory in the Ram Janmabhoomi/Babri case, the BJP is on a downward slide thanks to simultaneous rebellions in the party ranks in Karnataka and Bihar.

In Karnataka, where the BJP has a strength of 117 in a 225-member assembly, as many as 15 MLAs rebelled against Chief Minister BS Yedyurappa, making Governor HR Bhardwaj to ask the Chief Minister to prove his majority on October 11. After this while three rebels have returned to the party fold, 11 are still unrelenting and have been served show-cause notices with threats of expulsion.

Party insiders lament that within a span of 27 months of the first BJP government in Karnataka or anywhere in the South, the Yedyurappa’s government is hurtling from one crisis to another. A BJP leader commented: “This is the way it was formed,” implicitly recalling how a minority government was converted into a majority by offering ministerial inducements to independents and purchasable Congress and JD-S legislators, who are now seeking their pound of flesh.

The Congress in Delhi may bail out the BJP with its high command here reluctant to back an alternative government in the state in coalition with the JD-S, shuddering at the prospect of sharing power again with HD Kumaraswamy and HD Revanna.

Moreover, the Congress also fears making a martyr of Yedyurappa and seems to have information that the BJP may soon replace Yedyurappa with Jagdish Shettar.

But while a helping hand from the Congress may see the BJP through in Karnataka. In Bihar, state BJP chief CP Thakur has resigned in the midst of state assembly election campaign.

Thakur, who is miffed with Deputy Chief Minister and his legislative party leader Sushil Kumar Modi for denying assembly ticket to his son Vivek Thakur from the Bankipur constituency in Patna, confirmed to newsmen that he had sent his resignation to BJP national president Nitin Gadkari.

He said: “I have resigned from the party post for several reasons, including my being ignored and neglected as the state party president by the party leadership.”

He also announced that he would no longer campaign for the BJP, saying “I have decided not to participate in the campaign for now.”

Thakur belongs to the powerful Bhumihar community known for flexing its muscle power and was appointed the state president only to send a friendly signal to the Bhumihar community on the eve of the state assembly polls.

Thakur’s resignation comes a day before top BJP leaders were likely to start their poll campaign in Bihar and while the BJP has not denied the resignation it is only hoping that the crisis may be over soon. Meanwhile, former BJP president Murli Manohar Joshi said: “Negotiations are on and a solution will be found.”

Kolkata, October 10
One and a half years after being ousted from Lalgarh by Maoists and Naxal-backed PCPA, thousands of Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) supporters today made their presence felt again in the area, holding a march and rally amidst tight security arrangements.

The CPM held a march past in which over 10,000 cadres, including women, led by zonal committee secretary of Lalgarh, Anuj Pandey, and walked down 12 km from Dharampur and Goaltore to Lalgarh. Some of them were armed with lathis, swords and other lethal weapons violating the orders under 144 CrPC.

There was no resistance nor opposition either from the Maoists or the members of the TMC-controlled CAPA (committee against police atrocities).

Pandey was evicted by the Maoists from his residence at Dharampur in the Lalgarh area on June 13, 2009, with the house been torched. The marchers went round the Lalgarh market and held a rally in front of the CPM office, which had been damaged by the Maoists a year-and-a-half back, and Pandey unfurled the party flag.

West Midnapore’s Superintendent of Police Monoj Kumar Verma said they had taken the permission a couple of days back. On whether separate police arrangement was made for the rally, Verma said, “We already have adequate police forces in the area, including the joint forces.”

Speaking at the rally, Pandey said, “Some people in the name of politics want disturbance in the area, but we are peace-loving people and we want peace.” He said in the last two years, 58 CPM activists had been murdered by the Maoists.

He requested youths not to be under the influence of Maoists and come back to the mainstream.

A senior district police officer said the administration wanted to see increase in political activity so as to help ease tension that persisted in the area.

Even as the CPM celebrated its “reclaimation” of Lalgarh, retreating Maoists gunned down two of its activists, Kalipada and Sukumar Chakraborty, both brothers, in the nearby Balarampur village in Puruila district. Other family members were also injured by the gun shots fired by the Maoists and they have been admitted to the Purulia hospital. The duo was having their celebratory lunch.

Yesterday, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee also held a public meeting at Lalgarh after a gap of long two years when the decision of “reclaiming Lalgarh” was announced. Bhatacharjee said they would now enforce the rule of law in the Lalgarh-Jangalmahal area step-by-step.

According to reports reaching the state government at Writers’ Buildings in the afternoon, much before the CPM procession had entered Lalgarh, all Maoists encamping inside the jungle at Lalgarh fled into the nearby jungle in Jharkhand. Hence, there was no disturbance later.

But a group of Maoists activists while escaping through the Ballampur village into Jharkhand, suddenly raided the house of the Chakraborty brothers and killed them.

In Kolkata, CPM MP Shyamal Chakraborty described the capturing of Lalgarh as a historic event. He said it was the people’s victory against the Maoists.

But the TMC leader Partha Chatterjee and the WBPC (L) president Manash Bhuiya criticised the CPM’s capturing of Lalgarh with the help of the police by forcing out the poor villagers from the area. Tomorrow, the Congress (L) will lead a deputation to Governor KR Narayanan demanding his intervention against the CPM’s “forcible” reclaiming of Lalgarh.

Hyderabad, October 10
In a new twist to the ongoing Telangana movement, a popular revolutionary balladeer (singer of popular ballads) and Maoist sympathiser Gaddar today launched the Telangana Praja Front to fight for the statehood cause.

The new outfit, drawing support from organisations representing Dalits and weaker sections, poets, writers, artistes in the region, would work with the sole aim of putting pressure on the Centre to introduce a Bill in the Parliament on carving out a separate Telangana state.

“We will emerge as a strong political force and bring everything to a standstill to achieve our goal,” said Gaddar (61), a former member of the banned Naxalite outfit.

The announcement was made after a day-long meeting of his followers, which attended by representatives of over 60 organisations from various parts of the region.

“We want our Telangana state, self-rule and self-respect. We will not stop till we achieve the goal,” he said.

The new outfit is widely expected to checkmate the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) which is now in the forefront of the statehood agitation and a dominant force in the region. The development has caused a sense of disquiet in the TRS circles that see it as a move to create confusion among the people and dilute the Telangana movement.

Known for his folk songs laced with revolutionary message and ideological affiliation with Maoists, Gaddar is a big crowd-puller and particularly popular among the youth.

Gaddar, whose real name is Gummadi Vithal Rao, is likely to emerge as a rallying point for Dalits, backward classes, artistes, writers, intellectuals and social activists in the region.

“There is a section among Telangana protagonists who feel that the TRS has ignored the interests of weaker sections and become a party of upper castes. It has also lost its sheen and power to galvanise people,” political analyst A Chakrapani said. The announcement of the new Front comes at a time when major political parties - the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party - are vertically divided in their ranks over the Telangana issue.

“The statehood goal can be achieved only through a sustained mass movement. The present political parties, including the TRS, have failed to succeed,” the balladeer said.

Gaddar, who left his bank job in the 1970s to join he Naxalite movement, was an active member of a cultural front organisation of the erstwhile People War Group (PWG) for several years. Still a self-professed Maoist sympathiser, he has been supporting the Telangana cause and organises stage shows in the region.

He enjoys the confidence of the students’ joint action committee of Osmania University, the epicentre of the statehood agitation.

Hyderabad, October 10
It is a problem of plenty staring at Andhra Pradesh, which is widely regarded as a leading educational hub in the country. Not long ago, a string of professional colleges dotting the state capital and other cities were the hot destinations for students seeking a wide array of undergraduate courses covering engineering, medicine, pharmacy and computer sciences.

However, the scenario has changed dramatically. Several private engineering colleges are now facing the risk of closure following poor response from students. Out of nearly 2.50 lakh seats in 690 engineering colleges across the state, about one lakh are lying vacant this year as there are no takers.

A combination of factors has led to this glut in the education bazaar. Indiscriminate sanction of colleges in private sector, poor infrastructure, faculty, laboratory and other facilities and falling standards in the new colleges are among the factors that contributed to the declining demand. The political unrest over Telangana statehood issue has further compounded the problem.

There has been a large scale migration of students to neighbouring states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to pursue professional education.The fear of frequent shutdowns, disruptions and possible loss of academic year due to prolonged Telangana agitation has forced many parents to rethink about getting their children admitted to colleges here. With nearly 46 per cent of the total number of merit seats lying vacant even at the fag end of the first phase of engineering counseling, several engineering colleges might have to shut shop, the officials fear.

Last year, at the end of the first phase of counseling, only 4,630 seats of 1.5 lakh seats on offer were left vacant. There were 654 colleges last year and the number has gone up to 692 now and the number of seats rose by 30,000. The managements of private engineering colleges are now turning to desperate measures to fill up seats. They include the offer of free laptops, free transport facility, free library facility, waiver of special fees and 20 per cent discount on tuition fee.

"We have about 500 engineering colleges in the state, which do not have proper infrastructure and faculty though they may be having good buildings. All such colleges will have to be closed down," Secretary State Council of Higher Education, Christopher said.

New Delhi, October 10
In the dark world of child prostitution, there are no windows for light. That explains the helplessness of law enforcers in nabbing the operators of fraudulent placements agencies, who have found in the Commonwealth Games an excuse to source minor girls for running sex rackets in the National Capital Region. They are operating in liaison with massage parlours, escort clubs, and in some cases even brothels.

In abundance in Shakarpur area of Punjabi Bagh and Mahipalpur close to the airport, many such agencies are working in the name of getting domestic labourers for clients. The Delhi police and the Home Ministry, however, admit there is ground to believe they are sourcing minor girls and supplying them for commercial sex work technically retaining them as "domestic workers" during the Games.

"Increased trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation ahead of Commonwealth Games is of deep concern. Minor girls, brought to the Capital from certain eastern states, were recently rescued from New Delhi railway station. They were brought on the pretext of being given jobs," Joint Secretary of Home Affairs Nirmaljit Singh Kalsi wrote to the states earlier this month.

A set up last week by Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), a reputed anti-trafficking agency in Delhi, revealed the modus operandi of these agencies, who admitted in a taped conversation to have been preparing for six months for CWG. In the process, they hired residential space in elite but crowded Delhi localities where customers would feel safe and not at risk of police raids.

"When you supply a girl at a posh flat, you escape anti-trafficking laws as there's no proof that the man in the flat is a customer or the girl a sex worker. When we tracked the placement agencies through some agents, we were told we can't choose a location of the meeting and the agency would decide on that. They said they would provide us a pick and drop and would intimate where to come for a pick up," Rakesh Sangar, national secretary of BBA, said.

Decoy customers of BBA got in touch with placement agency men, who admitted on the phone that the rates of girls had shot up ahead of the CWG, that the younger the girl the more expensive she is, that "every girl is well-groomed, well-trained in everything".

The agents, however, have code words for trade and asked the decoy customers what they were looking for. "Do you want Black Diamonds, Kaali Gudiya?" the man on the phone asked when Sangar himself once posed as a customer. "Black Diamond is a reference for tribal girls who are hard to get. Fairer ones are easily available," the agent who called himself Milan said. He admitted that tribal girls from Mandala, (MP); Dumka, Gumla, Simdega (Jharkhand); Orissa and West Bengal were in huge demand among the visiting foreigners. That explains the traffic the inflows of minors from eastern states.

As for operation, the agent said they had flats where they would set up a meeting with the client. The girls on offer otherwise live as domestic workers with "families chosen" for the purpose; they come in on demand within hours and go back to the houses, escaping suspicion. BBA is sharing its evidence with Delhi police.

Two months ago, six tribal girls from 24 Parganas, Bengal brought to Delhi for work during CWG, went missing. They had come through a placement agency in Madanpur Khadri near Sarita Vihar. Crime trails showed there was no such agency on ground. Unregistered operators shift base overnight.

"We are getting calls these days about minors being forced into commercial sex after being brought for domestic work by placement agencies. These agencies are informal and hard to track," admits Komal Ganotra of Childline Delhi who recently rescued two minor girls from Yamunanagar. They hailed from Cooch Behar, were brought to Delhi through a Tuglaqabad-based placement agency, used here, then moved to Yamunanagar.

These agencies are also operating for CWG through massage parlours and escort clubs, whose advertisements have loaded the local newspapers. On September 9, the Delhi police booked one RK Dubey, 23, a Kotla Mubarakpur resident, for running a sex racket under Joya Escorts and Monica Massage Services. One Syed Gabbar of Jhajjar (Haryana) was arrested for assisting him. (Concluded)

It is warmer than ever before and the capital city of Himachal Pradesh increasingly looks like a shanty town rather than the Queen of Hills as it has been known for long.

Worse is to follow as the state government is all set to withdraw the ban on construction in 17 'Green pockets' in Shimla. The proposal awaits a formal cabinet approval and realtors are eagerly waiting to cash in on the bonanza. Even more alarmingly for some citizens, the government proposes to authorise the Municipal Corporation to clear all building plans. The MC in Shimla does not inspire much confidence and its past record in curbing illegal construction has been dismal, which explains why people respond with dismay to the proposal.

It is curious partly because the BJP government in the state swears by its 'Green' agenda and its resolve to 'greening' the hill state.

A hotel being constructed in the heritage zone next to the chief minister’s residence.

Despite concerns expressed by environmentalists, experts and citizens, construction activities continue unabated in violation of rules. To the consternation of many, high-rise buildings too are steadily coming up in the capital , notwithstanding the ban on such buildings.

The violators are apparently quite happy to pay the paltry penalty they are slapped with. Once the penalty is paid, the construction stands 'regularised' and acquires legitimacy.

The building boom, accompanied by a phenomenal increase in the number of vehicles, has stretched the city to the brink and spawned a large number of prophets of doom who see calamity in the horizon, ranging from a mighty earthquake to equally devastating cloudbursts and landslides.

The government's move will open the floodgates for construction activity, especially in the core, restricted and heritage zones, each of which has a separate committee of experts to preserve their status.

Even more ironically, there is the Shimla Development Plan, which is awaiting approval for the past four years and which actually had recommended that the number of green belts be increased to 100. But now, even the 17 earmarked green belts are being sought to be de-notified.

The manner in which buildings are being raised in violation of the regulations confirms that the law is a wonder net, through which the big fish escape while the small get caught. The moneyed and the people with the right kind of connections get away with anything, whether it is pulling down a century old heritage structure or erecting high-rise buildings in the no-construction zones.

Succesive governments were responsible for bending over backwards to regularise illegal constructions. They in effect encouraged people to go in for even more brazen violation of the rules.

The dried deodar trees close to the massive retaining walls around Radha Swami Satsang Bhawan in Shimla

A deodar tree jutting out of the roof of a hotel next to the Secretariat

Meanwhile, the law abiding citizens are compelled to make endless visits to the Municipal Corporation (MC) and Town and Country Planning (TCP) offices even for inadvertent violations of very small magnitude.

There are more than 14,000 unauthorised structures in the state, built in violation of the regulations. There has been no attempt by authorities, however, to disconnect their water and electricity connections as per the provisions in the law. In Shimla alone there are 187 buildings, which are higher than five-storeys, some of these owned by MLAs and bureaucrats in violation of the law.

In a relatively small town, there cannot be any excuse for the authorities' failure to stop illegal constructions while the construction is on. But neither the Municipal Corporation nor the Town and Country Planning department or the forest department, for that matter, intervenes when the violation is being committed.

The influential builders have exceeded the permissible height, covered surplus area and caused damage to trees. Their pleas for compounding have been generally considered sympathetically and even the gross violations are regularised.

There is the case of an under construction hotel close to the chief minister's residence where gross violations have been regularised after a fine worth Rs 80 lacs was paid by the hotelier. The case was treated as an extra-special case and the initial compounding amount, which was close to Rs 1.85 crore, was scaled down.

Should such exceptions be there at all in the statutes when they are routinely abused by people in power ? If the law is meant to be applied uniformly to everyone, how can the executive be left with discretion to discriminate ?

The area in this instant case falls within 25 mts of the Heritage Zone extending from Chotta Shimla to Indian Institute of Advanced Studies (IIAS), where reconstruction is allowed only in accordance with old traditional architecture with no change allowed in the facade. Moreover even after granting special favour of allowing fresh construction in the heritage zone, gross violations were committed which have been regularised now.

Similar leniency has been shown for the owner of Jagson International Ltd despite his house burying majestic deodar trees within the fortress like boundary walls erected by him all around the house in Richmond in Jakhu. The issue rocked the assembly several times as legislators both from the BJP as well as the Congress demanded to know why action had not been taken for the 
violations till now.

In the report sent by the MC to the Core Area Committee, serious deviations in terms of height and constructed area were cited. The report also mentions construction of a road and walls exceeding height and thickness without permission.

The construction of the wall has resulted in 20 deodar trees being buried in the massive walls and the trees have already started withering. The Forest department also reported the damage to the trees , on the basis of which a nominal fine was imposed by the Assistant Commissioner (MC) under Himachal Pradesh Municipal Act, 1994.

Another case of violation is the manner in which 30 trees were buried within the boundary wall of the Radha Swami Satsang Bhawan near Ramachandran Chowk on the Forest Road, right next to the Raj Bhawan. In complete violation of the rules, a huge 10 mts high wall was raised against the permissible limit of 4 mts all around the property and the case has now been referred to the Core Area Committee.

The list of such gross violations by influential people is endless as they are able to manage their cases at the higher level. Buildings along the heritage zone in the heart of the town on the Mall are being constructed with no resemblance to the old structures but the MC has failed to take note.

All this is being done while the government routinely pays lip service to the need of decongesting the core area of the town.

To make matters worse, the law enforcing agencies are themselves responsible for grave violations as they go ahead with construction without obtaining the requisite permission. Even though built as public utility buildings, majority of the government structures are erected without even bothering to get the necessary permissions and following procedures.

More than 60 land-owners have reportedly urged the government to give them relief as the green belt notification was issued after they had bought the land. " Why should they alone be made to pay for protecting the lungs of the town, " asks Rajeev Verma, a local architect.

He suggests that either the plots should be purchased at market value or alternatively they should be given plots of the same size at any other location within Shimla. Some advocate giving one-time relief to persons who bought the plots before the green belts were designated in 2000.

In stark contrast are the speculative deals made by some people who bought plots in the green areas after 2000 at very depressed rates in anticipation of making big bucks as and when the ban is lifted.

"There seems to be no justification for lifting the ban on construction in the 17 green belts as this will worsen the already unplanned and haphazard construction activity in the town," holds Yogender Chander, a former MLA .

While trees can be felled in Shimla only if they have dried up or are deemed to be 'dangerous', people have found ways to circumvent the law. The trees are being suffocated to death by either burying their roots in the fortress like boundary walls, retaining walls or septic tanks.

While the government swears to protect each and every tree and a deodar plantation project too has been launched in the state capital, little effort is made to protect century-old majestic deodars which can be seen jutting out of roof tops as they have been included inside the buildings, a way to evade felling which is banned.

People have also been quite innovative as chemicals are injected into the trees to dry them so that permission can be sought to fell them after getting them declared as dead. Although rules provide that no construction can take place within 2 meters of a tree and 5 meters of a forest, there is little or no monitoring.

A survey by the Himalayan Forest Research Institute indicates that natural regeneration of deodars has stopped in Shimla as there is little soil cover available but only concrete on account of haphazard construction activity. Another reason attributed for drying of trees is unscientific dumping of debris as well as garbage in the forest area.

At several places dry deodar trees stand mute spectators to the reckless and mindless urbanisation to which there is no stopping. While the law abiding citizens have to toil hard to seek permission from the Tress Authority Committee to fell even a single tree which poses a threat to life and property, those adopting unfair means get away far more easily.

B.S. Malhans, State Convener of the INTACH says undertaking fresh demarcation of the green belts could solve a lot of problem. "Certain areas without a single tree have been included in green belts and they should be deleted at once from the list while other thick forested areas have been excluded," he points out.

New Delhi, October 10
Signalling an important change in the long-term strategic plan of its armed forces, the Defence Ministry has okayed the purchase of four specialised ships that will triple the existing capability of launching offensive sea-borne “out of country operations” by the forces.

These ships, called the Landing Platform Docks (LPDs), are essentially a modern-day sea-based version of the Roman epic “Trojan horse”. Each carries in its huge lower deck hundreds of troops with tanks, vehicles and cargo. Such a ship can deliver men and equipment near a sea beach and does not need a berthing dock providing the option for landing thousands of troops near a spot chosen to attack.

The Defence Acquisition Council, headed by Defence Minister AK Antony, met earlier this week and cleared the purchase alongside the purchase of four additional long-range maritime aircraft for the Navy. The aircraft will allow dominance over the Indian Ocean. Currently, the Navy is woefully short of maritime surveillance platforms.

The additional LPDs were the first step towards increasing capability to launch “out-of-country operations”, set to be tripled over the next few years, sources said.

The Navy, at present, has one LPD, the INS Jalashwa, a 16,000-tonne displacement vessel. It was purchased form the USA for $50 million in 2007. The purchase of four additional LPDs would be done at a cost of more than $3.3 billion or Rs 18,000 crore. This time, the ministry has decided to call for a global tender. At least two of the ships would be manufactured at shipyard in India.

Forces that move across sea are referred to as “amphibious task force”. At present, India has the capability to move a Brigade, some 5,000 men, using the lone LPD along with a fleet of five smaller 4,500-tonne vessels called the Landing Ship Tank Large (LSTL) each of which can carry 10 tanks, 11 combat trucks and 500 troops.

Leh, October 10
The “cold desert” of Leh today entered the Guinness Book of World Records after more than 50,000 willow saplings were planted at Changga village, near the world-famous Hemis monastery, 45 km from the town, in less than one hour by 9,000 volunteers under a drive supported by Buddhist monks to mark the “green” Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

The earlier record was held by Peru where 40,000 saplings were planted during a one-hour event by 8,000 volunteers.

The programme was flagged off by Drukchen Rinpoche, chairman of “Live to Love” initiative, at 10 seconds past 10.10 am today.

More than 15,000 volunteers reached Changga village, around 40 km away from Leh town, this morning but only 9,000 were allowed to participate in the drive in this remote Himalayan region that saw massive devastation after cloudburst and flash floods in early August.

A team of three members from Guinness World Record was in the village to monitor the event.

Guwahati, October 10
In view of inadequate services of Doordarshan (DD) and All India Radio (AIR) networks in the frontier state of Arunachal Pradesh, the state government of the hill state has moved the Information and Broadcasting Ministry for upgrading DD and AIR infrastructure in the state.

The I & B ministry has been requested for upgrading DD and AIR services in Arunachal Pradesh with latest technical infrastructures and digital transmitter power from 100 KW to 400 KW of AIR Itanagar for wider coverage.