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Himalayan
TSUNAMI
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IAF sets example for itself, world
Union grant to go for states flouting ambulance design norms: Minister
India, China discuss ways to avoid border incidents
Sathasivam to be new CJI
Navy gets stealth
frigate INS Trikand
India’s first dedicated navigation satellite set for launch tomorrow
Sex scandal: Kurien gets clean chit
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TSUNAMI Toll may cross 10,000: Speaker Neena Sharma Tribune News Service
Dehradun, June 29 The Speaker, who had recently toured the affected areas of Garhwal and is now touring rain-ravaged Pihtoragarh district in Kumaon Division, said: “My estimate of toll climbing to 10,000 is based on the reports received from the local people and my own assessment of the ground situation. I travelled both by road and foot and saw the large-scale devastation with my own eyes. According to local people, in Rambara alone there were around 3,000 persons and the entire area has been washed away on that fateful day,” he said. The Speaker said even the government was in the know of things as it has several sources for gathering information. “Nothing is hidden. The devastation is complete in areas that acted as ‘padavs’ (resting points) for pilgrims. These places are now under debris or washed away,” said Kunjwal. He said the government should come out with a proper assessment of the toll in the floods and other information so that the affected people were not kept in the dark. However, the rumours of the death toll crossing 1,000 gained momentum after sources claimed that the Central agencies who were part of the evacuation have submitted a report about the presence of around 2000-2500 bodies lying between Rambara and Kedarnath. The Chief Secretary, however, said no such report had been submitted by the Central agencies.
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IAF sets example for itself, world
Gauchar, June 29 Wg Cmdr RC Pathak, who led the operations at the makeshift rescue launch pad for helicopters at this small airstrip here, is relaxed now and the enormity of the task has just started to sink in. Was this operation a history in the making? “Maybe”, says the officer while talking to The Tribune. He listed the June 23 rescue operation at Jungle Chatti, some 6 km south of Kedarnath, as the toughest challenge. The rescue effort coordinated by Air Officer Commanding, Air Cdr Rajesh Issar, temporarily based at Dehradun, has seen almost all helicopters except the attack choppers, Mi-35/Mi-25, operate from Gauchar, a sleepy Himlayan hamlet at an attitude of 2,400 feet. The Mi-26, the heaviest flying helicopter in the world landed here to drop aviation fuel. The Mi-17, the Mi -17 V5, the Chetaahs and two versions of the Advanced Light Helicopters operated from here. Gauchar offers one of the few flat surfaces in the Uttarakhand Himalayas. The peak of operations was June 23 when the by-now-famous-operation was carried out to evacuate stranded pilgrims from Jungle Chhati. On June 20, Wing Commander Pathak, who leads the ‘Sarang’ helicopters display team, was at Hyderabad. At night, pilots were at the wedding anniversary of a fellow pilot. The Sarang team was slated to perform at the IAF Academy at Dindigul. “Around 8 pm, I got a call from Air Headquarters to fly out to Sarsawa (near Saharanpur) at first light. Even as we were reaching there, I was told to land at Dehradun”, recollects the Wing Commander. Even as he listed Jungle Chatti operations being the toughest, the Wing Commander said the first task was finding a place to build a helipad. A bend on a kutcha road was identified. Sq Ldr Vipin Takawale and his co-pilot Sq Ldr Kusbhoo Gupta did some 80 sorties saving people, as June 24 and June 25 were listed as days of heavy rainfall.
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Union grant to go for states flouting ambulance design norms: Minister
Chandigarh, June 29 The ministry has communicated to 23 states and five union territories that if the set norms for the mobile units were not followed by them, the ministry will not release their monthly grant to bear the cost of operations, she said. She said after the launch of the project in 2007, the ministry had received a number of complaints that state chief ministers have put on their photographs and name on the mobile units to misguide the public that the projects were launched by their respective governments. Chowdhary said there were 246 mobile units functioning in the states under the National Rural Health Mission. Avoiding any specific question on the Punjab Government, which has put the picture of the chief minister on the ambulances, she said after these directions there was no need to take any separate action against any state government. Records of the Health Ministry revealed that the capital expenditure of the mobile units were fully financed by the NRHM and 60 per cent of the operational cost in the first year is borne by the ministry, 40 per cent in the second year and later on 20 per cent every year.
New hospital for Punjab
Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Santosh Chowdhary has proposed to set a Civil Hospital in Hoshiarpur with specialised wings for the cancer and kidney.
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India, China discuss ways to avoid border incidents
New Delhi, June 29 National Security Adviser (NSA) Shivshanker Menon led the Indian side while the Chinese team was led by State Councillor and former Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi at the two-day meeting held in Beijing. The two are the Special Representatives (SRs) of their respective country for finding a settlement to the lingering boundary dispute from the political perspective. A statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) here said the talks were held in a productive, constructive and forward-looking atmosphere. As directed by their Prime Ministers, Menon and Yang discussed ways and means of strengthening existing mechanisms for consultation and coordination on border affairs and methodology to enhance the efficiency of communications between the two countries. During Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to India in May, both he and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had asked their SRs to consider how their two countries could avoid incidents like the three-week face-off in Ladakh in April when People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops pitched tents in the Indian territory. Officials from the two sides continued their discussions on a framework for a resolution of the boundary question, which constitutes the second step of a three-stage process. The first stage was to formulate the guiding principles which resulted in the 2005 agreement on the political parameters and guiding principles for settling the boundary issue. Menon also called on the Chinese Premier and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The Indian official’s visit comes days before Defence Minister A K Antony’s visit to Beijing next week. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid will also be meeting his Chinese counterpart next week on the margins of ASEAN meetings in Brunei.
Special Representatives meet
NSA Shivshanker Menon led the Indian side while the Chinese team was led by State Councillor and former Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi at the two-day meeting held in Beijing The two are the Special Representatives of their respective country for finding a settlement to the lingering boundary dispute from the political perspective
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Sathasivam to be new CJI
New Delhi, June 29 Sathasivam (64) has joined as a permanent judge of the Madras High Court in January 1996 after which he was transferred to the Punjab and High Court in April 2007. He was appointed as a Supreme Court judge on August 21, 2007. Sathasivam, who will be the 40th CJI, will have tenure till April 26, 2014. The incumbent Chief Justice retires on July 18 after having a little over nine months tenure. Kabir was appointed CJI on September 29 last year. — PTI
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Navy gets stealth
frigate INS Trikand
New Delhi, June 29 INS Trikand, a frigate built in the Russian Federation, was commissioned into the Indian Navy at Kaliningrad in Russia by Vice-Admiral RK Dhowan, vice-chief of the naval staff, an official release said. The commissioning of INS Trikand marks the culmination of a three ship contract for "Follow On Talwar Class" ships built in Russia and was a milestone in the Indo-Russian military-technological cooperation, said the release. "Her sister ships INS Teg and INS Tarkash were commissioned last year and are now undertaking operations as part of the Western Fleet," the release said. INS Trikand carries a state-of-the-art combat suite which includes the supersonic BRAHMOS missile system, advanced surface-to-air missiles Shtil, upgraded A190 medium range gun, electro-optical 30 mm close-in weapon system, anti-submarine weapons such as torpedoes and rockets and an advanced electronic warfare system. The ship is powered by four gas turbines and is capable of speeds in excess of 30 knots, it said. INS Trikand has a complement of about 300 personnel including officers. The ship will soon undertake her maiden passage to India to join her sister ships of Western Fleet, the release said.
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India’s first dedicated navigation satellite set for launch tomorrow
Chennai, June 29 "The 64-and-a-half-hour countdown for the launch of PSLV-C22, which will carry IRNSS-1A started this morning at 7.11 AM. We are on schedule and everything is normal," ISRO spokesman Deviprasad Karnik said. The ISRO said the satellite, with navigation and ranging payloads, would provide accurate positional information to users as well as the whole region extending up to 1,500 km from its boundary. IRNSS-1A has already been mounted on an 'XL' version of the launch vehicle, ISRO's 24th mission of a PSLV. This is the fourth time in 24 missions ISRO will use an 'XL' version for the launch. It has used XLs for launches of Chandrayaan 1 (PSLV-C11), GSAT-12 (PSLV-C17) and RISAT-1 (PSLV-C19). IRNSS-1A is one of seven satellites constituting Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) space segment. IRNSS-1A, which will be launched at 11.41 PM on July 1, is one of seven satellites constituting the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) space segment. — PTI
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Sex scandal: Kurien gets clean chit
Idukki (Kerala), June 29 The woman approached the court after her petition was not admitted in a lower court in Idukki district in March. The sex scandal took place at Suryanelli in Idukki district in January 1996, when the then 16-year-old was allegedly threatened, abducted and abused by a bus conductor and was later confined and sexually assaulted for 45 days by 42 men. The victim had demanded further investigation into the case in the light of new disclosures, after
Dharmarajan, the lone accused in the case, told a TV channel about the alleged involvement of Kurien in the case. — IANS
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New Delhi The Election Commission is mulling issuing a notice to BJP leader Gopinath Munde for his statement that he had spent Rs 8 crore in the last Lok Sabha elections, much above the prescribed ceiling. Sources said the EC is gathering evidence and may issue a notice on Monday. — PTI Mumbai A month after the National Investigation Agency filed its supplementary charge-sheet in connection with the 2006 Malegaon blasts, an accused on Saturday challenged its legality, saying further investigation by the agency was “illegal”. Blast accused Dhan Singh and three others moved the Special MCOCA court against NIA probe. — PTI Mumbai The Crime Branch has filed a 130-page chargesheet against two MLAs for allegedly assaulting a police officer on the Maharashtra Assembly premises three months ago. Ram Kadam and Kshitij Thakur have been charged with assault. — PTI
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Gauchar, June 29
Idukki (Kerala), June 29
