|
|
Indian
plane hijackers in Pak
From B L Kak NEW DELHI, Aug 28: The Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr Omar Abdullah, has lambasted Pakistan for what he termed as...more Lahoria’s
aquittal poses NEW DELHI, Aug 28: All India Anti-Terrorist Front (AIATF) president M B Sitta today demanded that Government should challenge the acquittal of .....more Irrational
fuel policy NEW DELHI, Aug 28: An irrational fuel policy that has, over the years, encouraged use of diesel and put a premium on the use of petrol could be at the heart of the present cng crisis. ......more ‘MPs
should make NEW DELHI, Aug 28: With the focus on coming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab and corporation elections in the capital, Prime Minister .......more |
|
CPI-M,
BJP always NEW DELHI, Aug 28: CPI-M general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjit’s advocacy for amnesty to Punjab police offcials guilty of excesses on ......more AGP
general council to GUWAHATI, Aug 28: For the first time in a decade the insurgency factor in Assam has been elbowed out by former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar ........more Electronic
‘open sesame’ NEW DELHI, Aug 28: A remote-controlled ‘open sesame’ is to let visitors into the amazing world of Nizam’s jewellery guarded by probing cameras and gun-totting men. ......more Sangma
terms RS NEW DELHI, Aug 28: Taking strong exception to a Rajya Sabha Congress member’s remark against him, an agitated NCP member P A Sangma in .....more |
 |
Indian
plane hijackers in Pak From B L Kak NEW DELHI, Aug 28: The Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr Omar Abdullah, has lambasted Pakistan for what he termed as frequently resorting to unprovoked firing along the Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) in Kargil sector, Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir. Mr Omar Abdullah informed the Lok Sabha that some of the incidents of unprovoked firing by Pakistani forces are aimed at providing covering fire to terrorists that are being infiltrated into India. Answering a question by Mr Bhupendra Singh Solanki, Mr Omar Abdullah said that the Government had, on several occasions, conveyed to Pakistan the importance of strengthening peace and security along the AGPL, LoC and International Border. The Director-General of Military Operations was recently directed to seek a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart for talks to strengthen and stabilize the process of peace along the LoC and AGPL. But Pakistan’s response in this connection is still awaited, Mr Abdullah informed the House. On extradition of hijackers of the Indian Airlines flight IC 814, Mr Omar Abdullah told Mr Vijay Goel that New Delhi had taken up the matter with Islamabad on several occasions and provided the Pak Government with evidence of the involvement of Pak nationals in the hijacking. The Government of India, he said, had also informed Islamabad that there were grounds to believe that the hijackers "are currently in Pakistan". Mr Omar Abdullah stated that during the recently-concluded Agra summit, Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, had raised this issue with Pakistan President, Gen. Parvez Musharraf. Mr Vajpayee informed Gen. Musharraf that New Delhi was aware that the hijackers of the Indian plance, in addition to other criminals and terrorists responsible for heinous crimes in India, were living in Pakistan, and that these individuals must be arrested and handed over to India. Mr Omar Abdullah, in his reply to a question by Mr G. Putta Swamy Gowda and eight others, stated that the spurt in violence in Jammu and Kashmir following the Agra summit had created an extremely negative sentiment, both at the public and political levels, in India. Mr Abdullah said that while it could not be accepted that the violence in J&K, with its foreign mercenaries and generous assistance from abroad, "is anything but cross-border terrorism", the daily killing of innocent men, women and children "cannot under any circumstances be glorified as jihad or as a political movement". Mr Omar Abdullah informed the House that while Indian Foreign Secretary had, during her recent meeting with her Pakistani counterpart at Colombo, reiterated New Delhi’s commitment to continuing with the dialogue process with Pakistan that had been initiated by Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, India’s resolve, strength and stamina to counter terrorism and violence was also reiterated. According to Mr Abdullah, while Indian Foreign Secretary also stated New Delhi’s commitment to establishing a relationship of peace, friendship and cooperation with Pakistan, it was made clear to the Pakistani side that there was no question of India accepting that Jammu and Kashmir was either the ‘core issue’ or ‘central’ to the normalisation of bilateral ties. Mr Omar Abdullah replied in the affirmative when Mr Uttamrao Patil and three others asked if Mr Vajpayee had received a formal invitation from Gen. Musharraf to visit Pakistan. Mr Abdullah said that dates for the visit would be fixed through diplomatic channels, taking into account the convenience of both sides. He made it plain that the talks would take place in the framework of the Shimla Agreement, the Lahore Declaration and on the basis of the composite dialogue. Mr Omar Abdullah said in reply to a question by Mr GS Basvaraj that the US President had agreed to visit India. The US President, he elaborated, had written to Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, accepting his invitation to visit India. The dates for the visit would be decided through diplomatic channels. The visit, he insisted, would provide the two sides the opportunity to further strengthen their shared commitment to building a more meaningful and mutually beneficial relationship between India and the United States. |
|
Lahoria’s aquittal poses threat to my life: Bitta NEW DELHI, Aug 28: All India Anti-Terrorist Front (AIATF) president M B Sitta today demanded that Government should challenge the acquittal of Daya Singh Lahoria, one of the suspects in the 1993 bomb blast at the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) office here, saying Lahoria’s acquittal posed a serious threat to his life. Bitta, who also demanded a judicial inquiry into the "conspiracy" of withdrawing his security two days before the blast in which he was injured, said "police and Centre should file fresh cases against the acquittal of co-accused, Lahoria and others. And if Government does not do it then AIATF will do it as Lahoria is a dreaded criminal." A Delhi Court on August 25 sentenced to death Devender Pal Singh for the blast which killed nine persons and injured 29, but however, acquitted his accomplice Lahoria, giving him benefit of doubt on the ground that the confessional statement given by Singh about his complicity could not be corroborated. "In fact the AIATF will fight on behalf of all those who are killed in the terrorist attacks, if their parties do not fight for them irrespective of any political party involvement," he told reporters. Bitta, who distributed a Home Ministry letter dated September six, 1993, four days ahead of the blast, directing the security agencies to withdraw his security, alleged that there was a "conspiracy between then Home Ministry officials and some politicians, who wanted to see him dead." "There should be an inquiry by a retired judge of Supreme Court or High Court to find out the motives behind the withdrawal of my security," he said. Welcoming Home Minister L K Advani’s recent statement on Government considering some relief for police personnel accused of human rights violation, Bitta said "I will suggest advani not to come under any political pressure and go ahead with the proposal." Criticising RSS chief K S Sudersh Khalistan ideologue Jagjit Singh Chohan, Bitta said "Sudarshan should not forget that because of Chohan’s Khalistan movement thousands of youth in Punjab lost their lives." Bitta also demanded constitution of "anti-terrorist courts" across the country to deal with terrorism cases speedily. He also emphasised the need for separate categories of security for individuals and politicians. AIATF is planning to organise a training camp for nearly 2000 youth who can go in any state and fight insurgency, he said adding the front will also talk to Army and NCC for their armed training. (PTI) |
|
Irrational fuel policy responsible for CNG crisis NEW DELHI, Aug 28: An irrational fuel policy that has, over the years, encouraged use of diesel and put a premium on the use of petrol could be at the heart of the present CNG crisis. While the world over, diesel has always attracted higher taxes compared to fuels like petrol and CNG, the situation is just the reverse in India, according to the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Over the past three decades, the policy of pricing petrol two-and-a-half times higher than diesel has led to a burgeoning of diesel cars, taxis and autos. This is despite the fact that diesel has an energy content 15 per cent higher than gasoline and is priced accordingly in industrialised and most developing countries. This price differential has led to a galloping increase in diesel consumption, specially among motorists and bus owners. The last decade has seen a proliferation of private vehicles running on diesel. While on one hand, the number of private buses running on diesel has increased over the last decade, the number of private cars and taxis running on fuel have also witnessed a sharp rise. For a private car owner, running his vehicle on diesel seems far more profitable in the present scenario as the fuel cost per km with diesel is less than petrol by more than a rupee. For example 65 per cent of the bookings TELCO received for the Indica in the first few years following its launch were for its diesel version. Not surprisingly, today more than half the cars sold in the country run on diesel. This has created a powerful new political lobby in favour of perpetuating the use of diesel as at the present price levels running one's car or auto on diesel is far more cheaper than running it on CNG. Cheap diesel has frustrated efforts to encourage the conversion of taxis to LPG or Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) because running on gas may be cheaper than petrol but more expensive than diesel. This, in turn has made it impossible for the Government to implement the Supreme Court order to convert all diesel vehicles in Delhi into CNG as it has to contend with a strong lobby in favour of continuation of diesel as a fuel for vehicles. Apart from the private transporters, that is bus, taxi and auto owners, the lobby includes private car owners who are running their vehicles on diesel. In their representations to the Bhure Lal Committee, which was asked by the Supreme Court to look into the feasibility of using low sulphur diesel as a fuel for public transport and commercial vehicles in Delhi, several transporters associations, companies like the Tata Engineering as well as the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) favoured continuation of low sulphur diesel with 0.05 per cent (500 ppm) sulphur as fuel for Delhi’s vehicles. Further, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Ram Naik also recently stated that the conversion of the entire public transport fleet to CNG was not feasible as the fuel as well as maintenance cost of CNG are substantially higher compared to diesel. However, Mr Naik’s argument is countered by the proponents of CNG. According to Mr Amol J Sandil, Executive Director of Ashok Leyland, which is supplying the bulk of CNG buses to the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), while comparing the cost effectiveness of a particular fuel vis- -vis another, health costs of the two fuels must also be included. Going by this yardstick, cng turns out to be more cost effective than diesel. Mr Anil Agarwal, the chairperson of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) agrees with Mr Sandil. It is important to include health costs while considering the effectiveness of the cng strategy. A swedish study comparing CNG trucks with diesel trucks running on 10 ppm (0.001 per cent) sulphur diesel (the best diesel in the world) with a CRT found that when public health and environmental costs were included, the costs of running a cng truck were much lower, he says. Reacting to the transporters plea regarding continuation of 0.05 per cent (500 ppm) sulphur diesel as the fuel for vehicles, Mr Agarwal say, this is just another manifestation of the several vested interests which are resistant to meeting the deadline. Since these people constitute a major vote bank, it is feared that politicians will continue to pander to their opposition to CNG and see their political interest in doing so, he says. Referring to the fuel pricing policy, specially in Delhi, Mr Agarwal says, Delhi has a diesel price not only lower than other metros but also lower than neighbouring Uttar Pradesh which is much poorer and has lower quality diesel to sell. While the price of 500 ppm( 0.05 per cent ) sulphur diesel, the best quality available in India) is Rs 17.061 per litre, the price in Noida, UP is Rs 18.111, that too for a much poorer quality of 2500 ppm sulphur diesel. The price for 500 ppm sulphur diesel is even higher, at Rs 18.65. The diesel price in Mumbai and Chennai is even higher. According to the CSE, even a small increase in the price of diesel in Delhi could help the Government subsidise the conversion of the public transport fleet to CNG. Increasing the price of diesel in Delhi to that in Mumbai, i.e, Rs 20.271 per litre, would net the Government over Rs 450 crore in one year. With buses and taxis which run on diesel moving over to cng, the sales of diesel in Delhi will definitely come down but there will still be substantial demand for diesel by goods vehicles and generator sets. The revenue so generated can be used by the Government to provide auto, bus and taxi owners switching over to CNG with a subsidy of Rs 200-300 crore, without losing its existing revenue. Moreover, the increased price differential between diesel and CNG will make the latter even more attractive, the CSE says. (UNI) |
|
|
|
|
Electronic ‘open sesame’ to hi-tech king Solomon’s mines NEW DELHI, Aug 28: A remote-controlled ‘open sesame’ is to let visitors into the amazing world of Nizam’s jewellery guarded by probing cameras and gun-totting men. Newly-acquired electronic surveillance gadgets will add magic to the splendour of the jewellery, considered to be one of the finest collections in the world. An iron door opens and closes electronically allowing the visitors into the exhibition hall, which is virtually transformed into the king solomon’s mines. Two hundred closed circuit TV cameras probe all movements inside the imposing national museum building, the venue of the exhibition of the 173 items of jewellery studded with Golconda diamonds, Colombian emeralds and Basra pearls. The collection is worth anywhere between Rs 3,000 crore and Rs 10,000 crore, according to Union Minister for Culture Ananth Kumar. Each of the 29 unbreakable, bullet-proof fibre glass cases in which the jewellery is kept is watched round-the-clock by cameras and infra-red rays are ready to sound alarm at the slighest intrusion. The highlights of the six-week-long ‘Nizam’s jewellery’ exhibition are the world’s fourth largest diamond, the 184.75 carat Jacob diamond, a seven-line pearl necklace and a collection of 22 Colombian emerald drops weighing 412 carats. Though challenging in terms of the mind-boggling value and the prestige of national heritage involved, musueum officials say the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is responsible for the security of the museum, is equipped to deal with the daunting task. The CISF was in charge too when the museum mounted the equally prestigious ‘The Padshahnama’ exhibition in 1999. Every visitor to the exhibition, to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee tomorrow, will go through physicial and electronic checking. Their belongings will be checked by a newly-acquired X-ray machine installed at the museum’s main entry point. The 350-strong museum staff also will not be spared, says the Museum’s Assistant Director R S Chauhan. The entry inside the exhibition hall, which is the permanent venue for jewellery exhibitions, will be in batches of 50 people every half-an-hour. Time slots will be marked in the ticket which is priced at Rs 50 for Indians and Rs 500 for the foreigners. Machine gun carrying CISF men are posted at the exhibition hall, around the museum building and on the roof-top. Photography is prohibited and so are mobile phones and carry bags. The museum building and the exhibition hall will be watched by security personnel trained in electronic surveillance from a special control room. For the visitors, a help counter will be in place at the entry and an ambience hall adjacent to the exhibition hall giving a peep into the history of the collection through photographs and a 15-minute film. For those who want to walk away with more than the memories of the dazzling collection, Hyderabadi jewellery will be available at an arts and crafts shop, to be put up by the Andhra Pradesh emporium ‘Lepakshi’ at the museum during the exhibition that is likely to attract more than 30,000 visitors before it travels to Hyderabad. (UNI) |
|
||
Sangma terms RS member’s remarks irresponsible NEW DELHI, Aug 28: Taking strong exception to a Rajya Sabha Congress member’s remark against him, an agitated NCP member P A Sangma in Lok Sabha today termed his comment as "very irresponsible and anti-national." Raising the issue during zero hour, the former Lok Sabha Speaker said that the member Eduardo Faleiro had stated outside the house that he (Sangma) was from the north eastern region and he did not belong to the mainstream of India. Condemning Faleiro’s statement, Sangma said that with all the emphasis at his command, he would say that north eastern region was an integral part of India. Reacting to Sangma’s statement, Congress member Santosh Mohan Dev said that if Faleiro had made such a statement, he should not have done it. But what about him (Sangma) who was day after day was making all sorts of "baseless" charges against the Congress leader (Sonia Gandhi), he added. Sangma, however, did not say anything and sat quietly. (PTI) |
||
|
||
|
| home | state | national | business| editorial | advertisement | sports | |
