Excelsior... Nation

India may enter into
agreement with Russia
on quake monitoring

NEW DELHI, Oct 17: India may enter into a long-term deal with Russia on import and technology transfer of earthquake monitoring instrument, seismographs, officials said today....more

Modi Ministry
expanded in Gujarat

GANDHINAGAR, Oct 17: New Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today expanded his ministry by inducting two cabinet ministers and 27 ministers of state taking the strength of the 11-day old ministry to 39. ......more

No english
please.. It’s India

JAIPUR, Oct 17: Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief K S Sudarshan has expressed displeasure over English signboards in this tourist city. ......more

VHP leaders force
entry into ‘Garbh Griha’
in Ayodhya

AYODHYA, Oct 17: Tension prevailed in the disputed area in the Ayodhya, when hundreds of Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists along with their leaders .......more

Panthic Morcha bid to
radicalise Sikh polity

Harin Pathak
assumes office

NEW DELHI, Oct 17: Mr Harin Pathak today assumed office as Minister of State for Defence Production and Supplies, more than ten months after he stepped down from the post following.....more

India may enter into agreement with Russia on quake monitoring

NEW DELHI, Oct 17: India may enter into a long-term deal with Russia on import and technology transfer of earthquake monitoring instrument, seismographs, officials said today.

"We had ordered two advanced seismographs - one portable and one fixed - from Russia, which have been received here," Indian Meteorological Department Additional Director General s K Srivastava said.

These equipments are made by Design Bureau, a lab under Russia’s Science Academy, and both of them would be evaluated here for their suitability for indian conditions, he said. For this purpose, Russian scientists would come here and work with their Indian counterparts.

"We have not been making complete systems in the country and so far most of these seismographs were being imported from countries like Switzerland and US," Srivastava said adding Russia’s systems are cheaper with the cost of the two systems along with training programme being about Rs 22-23 lakh.

Srivastava said the main advantage of a deal, if agreed upon, would be transfer of technology, which would help India in becoming self reliant in making such advanced systems and, may be, export in the long run.

The process had begun after the Bhuj earthquake when Indian scientists had visited Russia to examine their earthquake monitoring equipment. At that time it was decided that these should be tried in India, he said.

A seismograph is immediately able to monitor any seismic activity. Recordings in five earthquake monitoring stations are needed to know about the exact parameters of an earthquake, Srivastava said.

India has 52 earthquake monitoring stations with a central station in Delhi. Within 10 minutes of the occurrence of a quake of the magnitude 4 and above, scientists are able to know all its all parameters.

However, there is a need for 177 stations to enable scientists to get information on earthquakes even of the magnitude 3 and above, he said. (PTI)

Modi Ministry expanded in Gujarat

Ashok Bhatt and Babubhai Bokharia were sworn in as cabinet ministers.

Gujarat Governor S S Bhandari administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers at a function here in which Modi and other dignitaries were present.

The Ministers of State inducted were Haren Pandya, Bharat Barot, Mangubhai Patel, Gordhanbhai Zadhapia, Hemantbhai Chapatwala, Naranbhai Patel, Harjivan Patel, Daulatbhai Desai, Devanand Solanki, Moru Bera, Bhupendra Lakhavala, Ranjitsinh Chavda, Chiman Saparia, Leeladhar Vaghela, Vadhibhai Patel, Ranchod Rabari, Rajnikant Rajvadia, Ishwarbhai Mawkwana, Dilipbhai Thokore, Karsan Patel, Mohan Kundalia, Jaswant Bambore, Bapubhai Udar, Prabhatsinh Chauhan, Jasuben Korat, Purshottam Solanki and Sundarsinh Chauhan. (PTI)

No english please..It’s India

JAIPUR, Oct 17: Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief K S Sudarshan has expressed displeasure over English signboards in this tourist city.

"The English signboards made me wonder whether I had come to a foreign land," said Mr Sudarshan who was in the city for a three-day organisational programme starting on Saturday.

According to RSS sources, the Sangh chief asked the activists of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Vidya Bharati to request businessmen and shopkeepers in the city to use the Hindi script for their signboards. (UNI)

VHP leaders force entry into ‘Garbh Griha’ in Ayodhya

AYODHYA, Oct 17: Tension prevailed in the disputed area in the Ayodhya, when hundreds of Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists along with their leaders forcefully entered in the "sanctum sanctorium (Garbh Griha)" of the makeshift Ram Temple here this morning.

The VHP activists accompanied by its working president Ashok Singhal, vice presidents Giri Raj Kishore, Dr Sujit Dhar and Srish Chandra Dixit, general secretary Dr Pravin Bhai Togadia, treasurer Phulla Reddy, Bajrang Dal national president Surendra Jain and co-convener of Bajrag Dal Praksh Sharma had a scuffle with security forces before entering. They were demanding darshan of Ram Lalla from closer proximity as the entry into the "Garbh Griha"is prohibited.

VHP leaders alleged that the administration had made activists unsuccessful attempts to arrest Mr Singhal while the VHP and leaders had gone inside to have "Darshan" of the diety.

Divisional Commissioner of Faizabad Anil Kumar Gupta, Deputy Inspector General of Police R P Singh, District Magistrate B P Misra and District Police Chief Prabhat Kumar reached the spot immediately after geting the information.

The Chief Minister Rajnath Singh and state BJP president Kalraj Misra were also in the Faizabad to adrress a rally.

Dr Gupta, also incharge of the disupted complex, later told UNI that about 25 persons had entered the prohibited place, and were driven out by the security personnel. He said some more persons had attempted to force their entry but were denied the access.

He admitted that the incident took place apparently due to laxity on the part of central reserve police force personnel, deployed at the complex. He said he was sending his detalied report to the Government in this regard.

It may be pointed out that the security inside the acquired land area has been entrusted to CRPF.

The Commissioner said depite the presence of some VVIP persons in the town, the administration had manged to save the situation timely. He also denied the VHP allegations that the security personnel had misbehaved with Mr Ashok Singhal.

He descrbied the situation as "under control". (UNI)

Panthic Morcha bid to radicalise Sikh polity

CHANDIGARH, Oct 17: Panthic Morcha leadership today tried to radicalise the Sikh polity in the run-up to Punjab Assembly election early next year by demanding dismissal of the Badal Government for failing to fulfil its constituional duty of defending Guru Granth Sahib and the Sikh faith in the sacred land of Khalsa.

Amid slogans of ‘Bhindrawale Zindabad’ in the backdrop of a collage of pictures of the slain Sikh militant leader and damaged facade of Akal Takht, the supreme religio-temporal seat of Sikhism, Morcha senior leader Simranjit Singh Maan gave the clarion call of ‘wanted Bhaniara dead or alive’ in the rally held at culmination of 45-kms long Khalsa march in the city parade ground this evening.

Piara Singh Bhaniara, the prime suspect in the burning of the Sikh holy book and who had been excommunicated from the Sikh Panth in August 1998, was arrested last month. Five Akali leaders, including Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurdev Singh Badal and his son Kewal Singh Badal, a vice president of SGPC, were held guilty of maintaining liason with him and punished for 15 days each to atone for their sin .

Punjab Government had banned the book ‘Bhavsagar Granth’ compiled by Piara Singh early this month.

The first incident of sacrilege of the Sikh scripture occured at Rattangarh in Ropar district, where Piara Singh has his ‘Dera’ (headquarter), on September 17 to avenge the burning of the Piara Singh’s book at Ludhiana the previous day allegedly by activists of Sikh Students Federation (Mehta group).

Seven copies of the sacred Sikh book were found burnt in a Gurdwara on September 30 in village of Fatehgarh Sahib from where the Khalsa march, led by ‘Panj Piaras’ (five beloved ones of the Khalsa order), was launched by the Morcha leadership after a successful Punjab bandh on October six on their call. (UNI)

Harin Pathak assumes office

NEW DELHI, Oct 17: Mr Harin Pathak today assumed office as Minister of State for Defence Production and Supplies, more than ten months after he stepped down from the post following a chargesheet in a 1985 rioting case.

Mr Pathak was sworn-in to the Union Council of Ministers on Monday along with Defence Minister George Fernandes.

He was Minister of State for Defence Production and Supplies from October, 1999 to November, 2000. He and Gujarat Health Minister Ashok Bhat stepped down from their posts after they were chargesheeted in a case relating to the murder of a police constable during riots in Ahmedabad in 1985.

The 54 year old member of Parliament from Ahmedabad, immediately after taking over, met Mr Fernandes.

The Defence Ministry now has two Ministers of State, the other being Mr Y Krishnamaraju. (UNI)