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Indefinite stir by pro-Telangana activists
BJP leaders rally around Advani to beat Modi |
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Common entrance test for UG courses IIT Council meets today to discuss proposal New Delhi, September 13 The government-appointed panel working on the structure of the proposed common entrance test for admission to undergraduate (UG) courses across India will submit its report to the HRD Ministry tomorrow. Amar Singh’s bail plea deferred
Old equipment puts IAF ops, aircraft at risk
DELHI BLAST
Samjhauta train blast
Stir against TN N-plant unfortunate: Russia
Renowned lensman Gautam Rajadhyaksha passes away
Khehar, 2 others take oath as SC Judges
Scolded by vice-principal, boy ends life in classroom
Anjali Gupta suicide: Group Captain held
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Indefinite stir by pro-Telangana activists
Hyderabad, September 13 Apart from government staff, people from various walks of life, including teachers, lawyers and students, are taking part in the strike in response to a call given by Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC). The Congress government has warned that it would be forced to invoke provisions of the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) against the striking employees. Undeterred by the government warning, the members of the Telangana employees’ unions stayed away from their duties. The Telangana activists organised rallies, road blockades and meetings in almost all the districts of the region. Raising slogans in support of their demands, pro-Telangana government employees in the state capital and elsewhere in the region staged dharnas. The educational institutions were forced to declare a holiday. K Vithal, leader of the Telangana Employees Union, said: "The employees will not cooperate with the government. The state ministers from the Telangana region should also participate in the strike in which all the people from the region are participating.” Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president K Chandrasekhar Rao asserted that it was a “do-or-die” battle for the people of the region who were yearning for a separate state. “The movement will continue till the statehood goal is achieved,” he said. Meanwhile, coal production in the state-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) came to a standstill today as over one lakh workers joined the strike. The work in about 50 mines spread over Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam districts in Telangana region came to a halt as the employees began the indefinite strike. As per sources, the SCCL workers did not turn up for duty with all 14 unions supporting the call. On a normal day, the firm produces 120,000 tonne coal in 36 underground and 14 opencast mines, said an official. If the strike at the mines continues, it is likely to affect nearly 10 thermal power stations not only in the state but also in neighbouring Karnataka and Maharashtra. With an installed capacity of 7,000 MW, these stations depend on Singareni coal for operations.
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BJP leaders rally around Advani to beat Modi New Delhi, September 13 To mobilise the entire party machinery for the yatra BJP will now hold its national executive here on September 30 and October 1. It has also decided in principle that Advani would start his yatra from the birth place of Sardar Patel in Gujarat on the birth anniversary of Loknayak Jai Prakash Narain on October 11 and end on November 22, said party sources. All the initial diffidence and consternation at Advani’s unilateral announcement on September 8 visible till Sunday has given way to considerable enthusiasm among the BJP leaders in Delhi just a day after the Modi development, and they seemed ready to make a big success of the yatra, ostensibly to demonstrate his primacy over potential contenders like Modi. Sources recall that even BJP president Nitin Gadkari’s initial reaction to Advani’s decision was of reluctant agreement. A BJP veteran Kanchan Gupta, an official in the Prime Minister’s office during Vajpayee days and currently a Special Invitee to the BJP national executive, tweeted in his blog on the Twitter immediately after the Supreme Court order saying : “I can bet my (new) ‘gamcha’ Delhi 4 in deep depression, inconsolable. I can bet my (used) Dunhill briar Delhi 4 will now prop up Advani.” By Delhi he meant Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu and Ananth Kumar. Kanchan’s acidic attack on the four top leaders clearly demonstrated that Modi has a constituency here and this section perceives the four top leaders and Advani as the obstacle to Modi’s emergence as the national leader of the BJP and in turn hope that only Modi has the might to displace them. But while most of them prefer anonymity, the Gujarat in charge of BJP Balbir Punj admitted on record that the Supreme Court order will certainly help Modi come to the centre stage of Indian politics. Political developments seem to be moving fast and Modi announced today his decision to go on a three-day-fast ostensibly to pray for peace and communal harmony in his state. Political observers see this as an attempt to upstage Advani’s Rath Yatra. Simultaneously to dispel the impression of an ongoing war on this issue sources said Advani is likely to issue shortly a statement denying that his yatra had any connection to the leadership issue in his party.
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Common entrance test for UG courses New Delhi, September 13 The report will be discussed in the crucial IIT Council meeting which will also take up for deliberations the recommendations of the Kakodkar Committee which has suggested that the annual fee at the IITs be hiked from Rs 50,000 to around Rs 2.5 lakh and another proposal to set up a task force to curb suicides in IITs. But a more important item on the agenda of the council which HRD Minister Kapil Sibal heads would be the Ramasamy Committee report on the format of the common entrance exam for entry to the university system. As reported by The Tribune, the HRD Ministry is hopeful of conducting the test for the first time in 2013. Sibal has already hinted that the exam structure would be broadly based on two elements - the score of a student in class XII and his score in a SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test as practiced in the US)-type exam. While class XII results would test the students’ academic abilities, SAT would test his general attributes instead of domain knowledge. On the basis of the two scores, an all-India merit list would be prepared and every student would enter college or a university depending on his position in that list. But before presenting his report to the council tomorrow, T Ramasamy, Secretary, Science and Technology, and Chairman, JEE Reform Committee, reportedly held discussions with experts from the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, who have concluded through intensive analysis of class XII standard marks of various boards that there existed a poor correlation among marks scored across boards though there existed a correlation among a board’s marks across the years. The experts inferred that marks scored across boards cannot be compared or normalised effectively. How the council and IIT leaders resolve the issue tomorrow remains to be seen. Earlier, the JEE reform panel headed by IIT Kharagpur Director Damodar Acharya had recommended class XII marks for selection to engineering institutes. But there were apprehensions that such a system would result in the cut-off fiasco as recently witnessed in Delhi University’s admissions where cutoffs soared to 100 pc. The Acharya report was junked by most state boards on grounds that class XII marks cannot be effectively normalised and add-on tests for IITs (which Acharya recommended over and above a national common test) would lead to such tests by other institutes as well.
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Amar Singh’s bail plea deferred
New Delhi, September 13 Amar Singh was arrested on September 6 for his alleged involvement in an attempt to bribe BJP MPs ahead of the July 2008 trust vote. Special Judge Sangeeta Dhingra Sehgal deferred the case for Thursday after directing the Tihar Jail Superintendent and the AIIMS Director to submit a complete medical report of Amar Singh by 12 noon
on Wednesday. “The jail authorities are directed to furnish a complete report on the medical condition of the accused which necessitated his shifting to AIIMS. I also deem it fit to have before me the entire medical record of the accused from the AIIMS,” the Judge said. Giving directions to the AIIMS director, the court added: “The Director of AIIMS shall send the report of the medical condition of the accused from the time of his admission to AIIMS and his present medical position.” The court directed Tihar Jail authorities to produce his urine culture and sensitivity report that was supposed to be submitted on Tuesday. “It is important and relevant that the medical investigations carried out in the jail hospital are placed on the court record,” the judge said.
— TNS
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Illegal mining case
Hyderabad, September 13 Since their dramatic arrest from their home town Bellary in Karnataka on September 5, the duo are lodged in Chanchalguda central jail here following the court remanding them in judicial custody. After three days of hearing from both the sides, Special Court judge B Naga Maruthi Sarma directed the jail authorities to hand over the former Karnataka Tourism Minister and Srinivas Reddy, who is also the Managing Director of Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC), to the CBI immediately for further interrogation in the illegal mining case. Following the court order, the mining tycoons were taken to the CBI office for further questioning. The investigating agency is also keen on subjecting the duo to lie-detector tests to ferret out the facts regarding illegal mining on AP-Karnataka border. Earlier, the Additional Solicitor General Vivek K Thanka, seeking a two-week CBI custody, argued that this was not a case of bail but a case of custody. Their custodial interrogation was crucial as they had personal knowledge of illegal mining of iron ore in mining area across Karnataka and AP. The duo could also provide information on the conspiracy with government officials allegedly involved in the racket. The CBI had registered the case against OMC, owned by the Bellary Brothers, on December 7, 2009, at the request of the AP government in the wake of allegations of illegal mining and irregularities in allotment of mining leases to OMC in Obulapuram and Malpanagudi villages of Anantapur district of the state. Nine months after the court had vacated a stay order obtained after the case was registered, Janardhan Reddy and Srinivas Reddy were arrested by a CBI team from Hyderabad.
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Old equipment puts IAF ops, aircraft at risk
Chandigarh, September 13 Consequently, not only does the IAF continue to use obsolete and unreliable equipment that has led to aborted missions and potentially unsafe situations in the air and low aircraft availability, but also, this has raised the spectre of the network’s effective integration with the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS). Radio sets in service with the IAF for air defence communication links were scheduled to be phased out in 2004 and a project was initiated as far back as 1993 to develop airborne and ground-based secure radio/telephone sets. Christened INCOM, these were to be developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as per specifications laid down by Air Headquarters in 1987. Though INCOM sets were meant for use in a hi-tech environment, Air Headquarters granted certain concessions in the specifications during the development stage itself in view of technological constraints. In 1997, IAF accepted INCOM sets worth Rs 71 crore from HAL. Additional concessions were sought by HAL between 1999 and 2001. Evaluation trials, however, revealed poor performance and unreliability of the system with respect to range, inter-frequency interference, software and frequent breakdown in communication, according to the latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). Despite being aware of these “unsatisfactory” trial results and the fact that the INCOM sets were expected to be used in a highly sophisticated environment in the future for data linking and communication with airborne warning systems, five more contracts worth Rs 45 crore were signed between 2003 and 2006 for installing INCOM sets on different aircraft fleets. Most of the sets were supplied by HAL between 2006 and 2010. HAL was supposed to make good the technical concessions during development subsequently, but failed to do so. In 2008, it claimed it had reached the limit of its technological capability for further development. “The performance and reliability of the sets was far below the requirements of the IAF. The contracted specifications in the area of frequency range, speech secrecy, anti-jamming etc, considered vital for flight safety of the combat fleet, have not been met,” CAG observed.
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DELHI BLAST
New Delhi/Kolkata, September 13 Chotoo had threatened to carry out blasts at a shopping mall in Ahmedabad. He said a new technique would be used and it would be hard for the police to crack the case. He had also challenged that the NIA and the Delhi Police to trace the emails sent by him. His full name, as per the Id, was chotoo minani ayushman. Out of the four emails sent after the blasts, these two claimed Indian Mujahideen had carried out the blasts. While one email originated from Kishtwar claiming that the Harkat-ul-Jihadi-Islami (HuJI) had carried out the blast. Another email was from Gujarat, Manu Oza has been arrested in that case. Today Sunny Sharma was summoned by the NIA for his role in the Kishtwar-originated email. Two others, Sadiq Ahmed and Abid Hussain, were being questioned in connection with the HuJI email. The second and fourth emails, sent under the name of Chotoo, are believed to have been sent using a mobile phone. The report of another breakthrough came from West Bengal where the police arrested a person (in his late thirties) from Bagnan in Howrah in connection with the Delhi High Court blast. The police said the person had several injuries similar to blast wounds. His face resembled with the sketch of the culprits released by the NIA. The man has been identified as Syed Afjal Tayeb. This person landed at the Bagnan rural hospital on Monday afternoon, with injuries on the left hand, face and legs. When the hospital authorities asked him his name and address, he refused to give any information. Initial questioning has revealed that his mother tongue is Urdu. He also has proficiency in Hindi, Nepali and English. He carries no documents or luggage. Tayeb is said to hail from Banke district of Nepal, bordering Uttar Pradesh. He is yet to provide evidence of how he sustained injuries and how he landed at Bagnan. Another Delhi blast suspect 30-year-old Md Akram, was also arrested from Siliguri yesterday.
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Samjhauta train blast
Panchkula, September 13 With this forensic test, the agency is trying to find a link between Samjhauta and other blasts, including those at Ajmer, Hyderabad Mecca Masjid and Malegaon. A team from the CFSL, Hyderabad, will conduct tests at the NIA camp office in Panchkula. Earlier NIA court had fixed the dates of August 20 and 21 for the reinvestigation of evidence but the main accused Aseemanand had moved the Punjab and Haryana High court against this decision. However, high court had dismissed Aseemanand’s plea and directed the NIA to again approach the special NIA court for fresh dates. NIA on June 20 had filed charge sheet against Swami Aseemanand and four others in the Panchkula NIA court. In the charge sheet, filed before the special NIA court in Panchkula, the agency had accused Aseemanand, Lokesh Sharma, Sunil Joshi (now dead), Sandeep Dange and Ramchandra Kalasangra, alias Ramji, of hatching a criminal conspiracy, which resulted in blasts.
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Stir against TN N-plant unfortunate: Russia
New Delhi, September 13 ‘‘The Indo-Russian task force and the Indian Department of Atomic Energy have checked the facility and have come to the conclusion that the first reactor is absolutely safe. It incorporates sufficient passive systems that guarantee safety of the plant in the worst case scenario,’’ Russian Embassy spokesman Sergey V Karmalito told The Tribune. His statement came even as some 10,000 people joined the protests, demanding shutdown of the Koodankulam nuclear power plant in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in March and yesterday’s explosion at a nuclear waste facility in France, in which one person was killed and four were injured. Numerous politicians have joined the protests. Expressing satisfaction with Russia’s nuclear cooperation with India, the spokesman said, ‘‘We are at a stage when the first and most powerful reactor is all set to be commissioned by the end of the year…all the trials are over. In fact, the hot run of the plant was done just last month.’’ He said both Indian and Russian sides had discussed every possible scenario and had taken adequate measures for safety of the Koodankulam project. Noting that the people of the area were protesting that the project could affect the area’s ecology, Karmalito said, ‘‘There is absolutely no problem about the Koodankulam project influencing the ecological system.’’ ‘‘It is unfortunate that an agitation against the Koodankulam project has started… We hope the local authorities and the DoT will be able to explain to the local population the facts about the situation,’’ he added. Karmalito said India required nuclear energy and Russia was trying to assist it in every possible way. “We are currently discussing third and fourth reactors at Koodankulam with the Indian authorities… Nuclear energy
will help not only the local population but also India as a whole,’’ he further stated. Apprehensions raised Locals have been demanding shutdown of the Koodankulam nuclear power plant in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in March and the recent explosion at a nuclear waste facility in France, in which one person was killed and four were injured.
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Renowned lensman Gautam Rajadhyaksha passes away
His first encounter with fashion photography happened in 1980, when he shot pictures of veteran actress Shabana
Azmi, Tina Munim and Jackie Shroff. He left his advertising job in 1987 and took up commercial photography full-time. He soon started doing product campaigns, media assignments and fashion portfolios. In 1997,
Rajadhyaksha, cousin of writer Shobhaa De, released a coffee table book, “Faces”, containing 45 film personalities, beginning with Durga Khote and ending with Aishwarya Rai
Bachchan. In 1992, he wrote his first screenplay for 'Bekhudi', which launched actress Kajol’s career and his second ‘Anjaam’ presented Madhuri Dixit in a challenging role. Mourning Gautam's death, De said,
"Gautam's soft-focus photography style was unique and his artistic personality was unmatched. There will be only one
Gautam." Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar said, "He used to like opera and had a sound knowledge of classical ragas. He talked to us about music and also explained photography to me." Several Bollywood personalities took to Twitter to express their grief over his
demise. "Gautam Rajadhyaksha, the gentlest of humans and one of the finest photographers in the industry, a friend, family favorite. Rest in peace. Too shocked to learn of
Gautam! We were talking about him just the other day. Many of his pictures adorn our house and our books," Amitabh Bachchan wrote on Twitter. "Photography and possibly one of the sweetest and most gentle people you would ever meet. Rest in peace
Gautam, you will be greatly missed," Abhishek Bachchan said. Filmmaker Shekar Kapur said: "Shocked to learn Gautam Rajadhakshya passed away. Great photographer, artist old friend and supporter." Photographer Dabboo Ratnani said: "Rest in Peace, Gautam
Rajadhyaksha. You will be dearly missed." Other celebrities like Sonu
Nigam, Celina Jaitly, Madhur Bhandharkar, Karan Johar, Boman Irani, Pritish
Nandy, Farhan Akhtar, Tusshar Kapoor, Neil Nitin Mukhesh and Maria Goretti also mourned the death of ace photographer.
— PTI
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Khehar, 2 others take oath as SC Judges
The other two are Justices Ranjana Prakash Desai and Sudhansu Jyoti Mukhopadhaya. CJI SH Kapadia administered the oath of office to the new Judges. With the appointment of Justice RP Desai, the strength of women Judges has gone up to two for the first time in the history of the apex court. Justice Gyan Sudha Misra is the other woman Judge. Justice Khehar, who hails from Punjab, was the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court at the time of his elevation to the SC, while Justice Mukhopadhaya was heading the Gujarat HC. Justice Desai was a Judge of the Bombay HC. Going by seniority, Justice Khehar has the chance to become the first CJI from the Sikh community. He is likely to occupy the office on January 4, 2017, upon the retirement of Justice Tirath Singh Thakur. The apex court will soon have four more vacancies following that many retirements by October 15.
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Scolded by vice-principal, boy ends life in classroom
Lucknow, September 13 Sahil of Chitbara in the Firozpur area of Ballia district lived in Shivalik hostel of the residential Navodaya Vidyalaya in Sarojini Nagar. On Sunday, after lunch, he left the hostel along with four of his friends without informing hostel warden HN Singh. By the time they returned late in the night, Singh had already informed Vice-Principal Vimla Devi. Next morning, the Vice-Principal scolded and punished Sahil and his five classmates in front of other students for leaving the hostel without proper permission. After the class, while the rest of the students left for an extra class, Sahil didn’t reach there. When his friends went searching for him, they found the classroom bolted from inside. When the door was forcefully opened, he was found hanging from the ceiling fan. He was rushed to the Trauma Centre of the Chatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. According to Circle Officer Sarojini Nagar Sanjay, in a suicide note, the boy had apologised to his father for taking the extreme step and said no one should be held responsible for his death.
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Anjali Gupta suicide: Group Captain held
Bhopal, September 13 "He will be produced in a court soon," the ASP said. Earlier today, the post-mortem report of Anjali Gupta, who was found hanging from the ceiling fan in the house of Amit, said she died of asphyxiation. Her family members alleged Anjali was in a live-in relationship with Amit and that continued even after she was court-martialled in 2006, the ASP said.
— PTI
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New Delhi, September 13
New Delhi, September 13