|
|
| Emissary sets
out on yet another mission CHENNAI, Oct 8: Official Emissary R R Gopal set out this morning on his fifth mission to meet forest brigand Veerappan in the jungles, amidst continuing........more
Mumata’s threat to CHENNAI, Oct 8: Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and All India Anna DMK (AIADMK) general......more Eco task force celebrates DEHRA DUN, Oct 8: The eco taskforce, which has played a crucial role in regreening Doon and Mussoorie over the past 15 years, is celebrating the....more ‘Kumbh Mela’ of journalists NEW DELHI, Oct 8: Over a thousand journalists from across the country would converge in the capital early next month to discuss critical issues related to the media including the right to information bill .....more |
|
Breach Candy readies MUMBAI, Oct 8: Security has been beefed up as Breach Candy Hospital here readies itself to receive Prisme Minister Atal Behar Vajpayee for his ......more Pooja Committees NEW DELHI, Oct 8: Pooja Committees of Delhi have raised funds for the flood affected people of ......more Indian facilities out of NEW DELHI, Oct 8: A defence analyst has concluded that most of India’s nuclear reactors and other ....more JMM would prefer to JAMSHEDPUR, Oct 8: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) today said it would prefer to sit in the...more |
Emissary sets out on yet another mission CHENNAI, Oct 8: Official Emissary R R Gopal set out this morning on his fifth mission to meet forest brigand Veerappan in the jungles, amidst continuing uncertainty over the release of Kannada filmstar Rajkumar and two others held hostage by the outlaw since July 30. The office of Tamil bi-weekly ‘Nakkheeran’, of which Gopal is Editor, said he had left the city and would wait in the vicinity of the Sathyamangalam forests for a "signal" from the fugitive. Gopal had claimed on his return from his fourth mission that he would have secured the release of hostages but for the "unfortunate" escape of Nagappa Maradagi, one of the four hostages, from the gang’s jungle hideout on September 28. Normally, it takes a few days for the emissary to get the signal before he enters the forests. The fifth round Veerappan may take place this time on or around October 11, the day the Supreme Court is likely to pass orders on petitions opposing the release of Tada prisoners in Karnataka and Tamil extremists imprisoned in Tamil Nadu, as demanded by the bandit. (PTI) |
 |
Mumata’s threat to resign a drama, says Jayalalitha CHENNAI, Oct 8: Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and All India Anna DMK (AIADMK) general secretary J Jayalalitha today dubbed as a "well-orchestrated drama" Union Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee’s threat to resign from the cabinet and withdraw her party’s support to the NDA Government over the hike in prices of petroleum products. In a statement here, Ms Jayalalitha, who was once considered close to Ms Banerjee, said the Trinamool Congress leader’s decision to withdraw her resignation after Prime Minister A B Vajpayee promised to re-examine the issue was nothing but a drama enacted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led-NDA Government to hoodwink the people. "It is deplorable that the NDA Government which took a cabinet decision, just in one day, to hike the prices of petroleum products, should have to call for a cabinet meeting even to say that a second look would be given in order to withdraw the oil price hike," she said. She also lashed out at the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), a constituent of the NDA Government and Union Ministers from the party for not censuring the hike. "When the Union Cabinet decided to hike the priecs of petroleum products, the DMK ministers, including Mr Murasoli Maran, were accomplices to the action and did not find it necessary to censure it," she said. Condemning the "steep hike," she said as announced earlier, the party would organise protest demonstrations on October 13, in front of Central Government offices in all the district headquarters, demanding an immediate roll back of the prices. She released a list of slogans to be raised in the demonstrations. The slogans targetted Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, besides the Central and State Governments. (UNI) |
|
Eco task force celebrates Territorial Army Raising Day DEHRA DUN, Oct 8: The eco taskforce, which has played a crucial role in regreening Doon and Mussoorie over the past 15 years, is celebrating the 51st Raising Day of the Territorial Army here from October 9 to 11. A special Sainik Sammelan, march past by amounted column and a civic reception by the citizencouncil of Dehra Dun are the highlights of the celebrations, according to Lt. Col Nirbhai Singh, Commanding Officer of the Battalion. The ecological task force (127 Infantry Battalion of the Territorial Army) was raised at Garhwal Rifles Regimental Centre, landsdowne as the first of its kind in the world. This unit was raised in 1982 as a Territorial Army and is affiliated to the Garhwal Regiment. Comprising only exservicemen of Garhwal and Kumaon, the unit was raised to restore the depleting ecology of the Shivalik Hills and Garhwal Himalayas by afforestation and soil conservation techniques. From 1982 to 1984, the unit covered an area of 7000 hectares by planting 3,19,000 saplings near Mohand (Shivaliks). In 1985, the unit was shifted to the mussoorie hills under the orders of the Supreme Court. Mussoorie had lost its greenery due to unscientific mining and deforestation. The eco taskforce, with its untiring efforts, treated and reclaimed mined areas and rejuvenated an area of 3400 hectares by 1994 with minimum resources available. Due to the efforts of the 127 Inf Bn (TA) ecological, Mussoorie got back its lost glory. In 1994, the eco taskforce was awarded the Indira Gandhi Paryayaran Puraskar by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The unit was also awarded "Doon Ratna" by the Citizen Council of Dehradun in 1998. The unit took up the project of ecological reconstruction in the Aglar Watershed. So far, 22 lakh saplings have been planted by the unit in 2800 hectares of land in these hills which had been made barren due to incessant cutting of trees and fodder collection. (UNI) |
|
‘Kumbh Mela’ of journalists in capital next month NEW DELHI, Oct 8: Over a thousand journalists from across the country would converge in the capital early next month to discuss critical issues related to the media including the right to information bill and creation of a national media register for working journalists. Described by the organisers as the ‘Kumbh Mela’ of journalists, the 12th bienninal All India Conference of the National Union of Journalists - India (NUJ-I), being held from November 3-5 at the tourist resort of Surajkund near here, would be attended among others by top political and trade union leaders. The three-day conference, being organised by the Delhi Journalists’ Association (DJA), would be inaugurated by Home Minister L K Advani while Congress president Sonia Gandhi has been invited to address the valedictory function, NUJ-I president N K Trikha said. On the agenda of the conference are major issues confronting the media including the state of the press, the report of the Manisana Wage Boards for employees of newspaper industry which is awaiting Government notification, the right to information bill, which has been referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee and creation of a national media register for working journalists. The meeting would also discuss critical issues such as information technology, the reconstitution of the Press Council of India, setting up of a Media Commission and a Journalists’ Professional Council for education and training, DJA president Hemant Bishnoi said. "At the threshold of the millenium, the conference is going to deliberate on many other issues. The discussions would be important as these would set the future course of the media. The conference is certain to usher in a new era," Trikha said. According to DJA general secretary Ras Bihari, Union Ministers Murli Manohar Joshi, Satyanarayan Jatiya, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Dhananjay Kumar besides Chief Ministers of Delhi, Haryana and UP are likely to attend the three day conference. "The NUJ-I and DJA had always been in the forefront of all struggles to protect the freedom of the press. Its leaders have preferred to go to jail than wilt down. They had merely not been trade unions but also professional organisations which always strived to set highest journalistic standards," he said. (PTI) |
|
|
|
|
JMM would prefer to sit in
opposition if CM JAMSHEDPUR, Oct 8: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) today said it would prefer to sit in the opposition in the new Jharkhand state if its demand for Chief Ministership was not met. "The JMM will not budge an inch from its demand for Chief Ministership and would prefer to sit in the opposition rather than accept anything short of it ... Sibu Soren is the most eligible candidate, irrespective of the party’s strength in the new State Assembly," JMM general secretary, Sudhir Mahato told PTI here. He said "we are still unable to understand why this unnecessary hue and cry is being raised by political parties on JMM’s genuine demand. Our party has made enough sacrifices during the Jharkhand movement." He evaded a direct answer when asked of the possibility of the JMM joining hands with the RJD-Congress combine to form the new Government in Jharkhand. "The JMM will wait and watch till the NDA meeting on the issue, which is likely to be convened shortly, and then decide on its future course of action," the JMM leader said. Mahato also said "the demand for greater Jharkhand is still on JMM’s agenda and as soon as the new Government is formed in Jharkhand, our party will discuss relaunching a democratic agitation to include Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundergarh, Sambalpur districts of Orissa and Purulia, Bankura and Midnapore districts of West Bengal in the Jharkhand state." (PTI) |
|
||
|
| home | state | national | business| editorial | advertisement | sports | |
