YMCAS urges Vajpayee

NEW DELHI, Nov 7: The National Council of the Young Men’s Christian Associations (YMCAS) has urged Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s intervention in stopping the growing instances of attack on Christian missionaries and property.

In a memorandum to the Prime Minister, the Council claimed one reason for the increase in the number and viciousness of the attacks was because cases against culprits were not being seriously pursued and the guilty easily acquitted.

The memorandum said that in the course of the attacks priests have been injured or killed while nuns have been raped and church property and institutions desecrated, looted and damaged.

"It is requested through your good offices that law enforcement agencies be directed to protect members of the christian community and and their property from acts that violate their life and security," the memorandum said.

Christians, the memorandum pointed out have a "long history of being peaceful, law abiding and loyal people whose members have rendered distinguished service to our country." (UNI)

Candidate brings security deposit money in coins

JAIPUR, Nov 7: A piquant situation was created before the returning officer in Alwar when an independent candidate presented his security deposit money in loose coins.

Laxman Mahajan, who filed his paper as an independent yesterday from Alwar constituency, brought the money in coins stacked in two bags, reports said here today.

Nearly 12 employees laboured for two hours and counted the coins in various denominations of up to Rs 5 before giving him a receipt. (PTI)

Rail traffic suspended due to landslide

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Nov 7: The entire rail traffic between Thiruvananthapuram and Nagercoil-Kanniyakumari was suspended for seven days following a major landslide at Palliyadi between Kuzhithura and Iraniyil stations of the Southern Railway, this morning.

Train services to Kanniyakumari and Nagercoil, which were earlier suspended from November 5, were expected to be restored this afternoon, but due to the fresh landslide, the railway authorities were forced to cancel the services for another seven days, Divisional Railway Manager Thomas Varghese told newspersons here today.

He said the fresh landslide was a major one as over 6,000 cubic metre of earth caved in on a narrow strip. A large number of earth moving machines, tipper lorries and one TATA-Hitachi "Poclain" machine were pressed into service to remove the earth from the track. Since the area was a narrow strip, services of manual labourers could not be utilised.

He said one km long track and railway sleepers had to be removed for the repair work. Executive engineers from Chennai and Tiruchirapalli were being rushed to the spot to supervise the work. Mr Varghese said Kanniyakumari-Mumbai and Kanniyakumari-Bangalore trains were held up at Nagercoil. Both the trains were being diverted to Thiruvananthapurman via Madurai and Shoranur, to be rescheduled to run to the destinations. However, it would take 24 hours to reach here. Hence, the departure of these trains from here would be delayed.

He said since these trains would terminate at the central station here, maintenance would be a major problem and there would also be congestion at the station. Hence, all the outgoing trains would suffer a minimum delay of 30 minutes to one hour.

The railway authorities have also requested the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and the Tamil Nadu Transport Corporation to operate additional buses between Kanniyakumari and Thiruvananthapuram for their onward journeys, he added.

He said in view of the frequent landslides here, the matter was referred to research design and standard organisation, Lucknow, for analysis and suitable remedial measures. (UNI)

Anwar demands special eco package for Bihar

RANCHI, Nov 7: AICC General Secretary Tariq Anwar today demanded a special economic package for the rest of Bihar along with the creation of a separate Jharkhand state comprising eighteen districts of south bihar.

Talking at the airport here Mr Anwar, who is also member of the Congress Working Committee, said his party was committed to creating a separate Jharkhand state but would also want an economic package to compensate the remaining areas of Bihar after its bifurcation.

The party would ensure that the Bihar State Reorganisation Bill 1998 was adopted during the Winter session of Parliament if introduced by the Centre.

Mr Anwar said a whip was not issued by the party when the Bihar State Reorganisation Bill was introduced in the Assembly to give a free hand to its members. "We (party) supported the Rabri Devi Government as part of its national struggle against communal forces," he claimed.

The Congress would continue to support the Rashtriya Janata Dal Government in Bihar at the moment, he said adding that its support should not be taken for granted as the Congress was a national party committed to people’s interest.

Mr Anwar said the Congress had no intentions at the moment to withdraw support nor had any recommendation in this regard been received by the party high command from the BPCC.

He observed that the party was still not strong enough in the state to take on its political rivals. "However, we are making efforts to revive our social base in the area," he added.

Expressing concern at the law and order situation he said the Congress would want the State Government to initiate necessary steps. However, he was not in favour of dismissing the Rabri Devi Government on the law and order ground saying the situation was far worse in the BJP ruled states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Delhi. (UNI)

Clinton to lift some sanctions against India, Pak: Official

WASHINGTON, Nov 7: In a major development, US President Bill Clinton has decided to lift a bulk of the economic sanctions that the United States had imposed on India and Pakistan in protest against their nuclear tests in May last.

However, the ban on the weapons sale and transfer of dual-use equipment such as the supercomputer will remain in place as before. But, the two countries will have access to US Credit and Development Agencies.

Prohibitions on Indian and Pakistani participation in US foreign investment and trade promotion programmes also will be lifted. The programmes are carried out by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) APZ Export-Import Bank. The programmes were worth 300 million dollars in case of India before the imposition of sanctions.

A senior US official, who made this announcement last night, said the decision to relax sanctions followed the progress made by the two countries in curbing their nuclear weapons programmes and their commitment to have a moratorium on further testing.

President Clinton, who was given authority to waive sanctions by Congress last month, is expected to make a formal announcement, lifting the curbs on New Delhi and Islamabad, within the next few days.

Officials circles here hope that this US gesture will help persuade the two countries to formally sign the CTBT, abandoning their reservations.

The official drew attention to the promise by India and Pakistan to adhere to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) which the US wants both countries to formally sign before it comes into force in September 1999.

He said they had committted themselves to strengthen controls on sensitive materials used in the weapons of mass destruction. Besides, they were considering controls on the production of fissile materials and agreed to participate in the negotiations, currently going on in the conference on disarmament in Geneva, on a treaty on the subject.

The US believes that the easing of sanctions would help create an environment for further progress on non-proliferation between India and Pakistan.

Factors that have weighed with the Clinton administration in going ahead with this decision include the adverse impact that these sanctions have been having on the US trade and investment prospects in the two countries, particularly India with a vast economic potential.

The US has been having high-level discussions with both India and Pakistan on the non-proliferation issue for the last five months and is, apparently, satisfied with its progress.

The latest round in the on-going dialogue with Pakistan, sixth in the series, ended here on Thursday at which Pakistani Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmed had expressed his country’s inability to sign the CTBT with the sanctions in place.

Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott represented President Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in these talks.

Mr Talbott will have a similar meeting with Prime Minister A B Vajpayee’s special envoy Jaswant Singh in Rome on November 19. This will be their seventh meeting on the subject.

Though both India and Pakistan have no objection to the CTBT as such, according to observers, there is a technical problem in the way of their signing the treaty. Under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), there could be no nuclear power other than the US, Russia, Britain, France and China, all having conducted their tests in the 1960s.

Now both India and Pakistan have become nuclear powers but the NPT does not grant them the status of nuclear powers. The question, therefore, is in which capacity they will participate in the CTBT.

These problems of technical nature had to be resolved for them to sign the treaty, obsrvers say. (UNI)

Troops set up relief camps
Army bridging gap between warring ethnic groups

GUWAHATI, Nov 7: The army has not only played a pivotal role in the ongoing counter-insurgency operation in Assam, but also made a sincere attempt to bridge the gap between the Bodos and Santhals.

The troops of 21 Mountain Artillery Brigade had set up two relief camps for the Bodos and the Santhals at Amguri. While in one camp, there were 1141 Bodos, in another camp 6633 adivasis had taken shelter.

According to General Officer Commanding (GOC), Four Corps, Lt Gen N C Vij, while relief materials were provided by the State Government, the troops mobilised the camp inmates to spruce up the surroundings and the temporary dwellings.

A group of journalists, which visited both camps recently, found that the camp area was clean with sewage drains, soakage pits, field bathrooms, pathways, kitchen, well-maintained garden, class rooms and clinic.

Vocational training and sports and community services were also rendered. Church and temple had been made and the educated youths were encouraged to conduct classes for school-going children. After seven deaths due to diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases between September eight and October 12, none had died in the past one month, the inmates said. About 425 adivasis and 162 Bodo-Rava children had also attended makeshift schools, established in the camps.

The rhythmic claptrap of the weaving looms could be heard once again, and the artisans had resumed fashioning bamboo into baskets. The Bodo-Ravas also solemnised a marriage on October 29, the first social event since their arrival in the camp.

Lt Gen Vij told newspersons, that the primary aim behind adoption of these camps by the army was to restore basic human dignity among these unfortunate people and to set a trend by which the civil administration and voluntary agencies could follow suit in improving condition of a large number of similar camps existing within the district.

Lt Gen Vij also said another main purpose of adopting camps were to remove the suspicion and doubt among the people of both communities. The army were planning to organise competition in sports and hold joint cultural programmes among the inmates with a view to bringing back trust, he said. To a question, the General said the army was not meant for tackling law and order problem, but when it seemed that law and order was going out of control during the sudden spurt in ethnic violence in the first half of September, 1998, in which both Bodos and adivasis were killed and a number of houses burnt down, the army came forward to assist the civil authority.

Mr Vij emphasised the need for solving the Bodo problems as early as possible to restore peace in the area. The reason behind the current ethnic clashes between the two communities was attributed to land grabbing.

Another army spokesman said the inmates of five Bodo relief camps comprising about 20,000 people in Gossaigaon sub-division had already returned to their respective villages. (UNI)

GM of Kalaimahal Sabha arrested

SALEM, Nov 7: The CB-CID police have arrested John, General Manager of Kalaimahal Sabha, a private financial firm, for allegedly misappropriating rs two crore worth sabha funds.

John was remanded to judicial custody by Salem Chief Magistrate yesterday.

Police had begun investigation on a complaint from a depositor that the Sabha, which has nearly 750,000 members, 39 branches and about 10,000 agents all over the country, had collected Rs 5000 from each member and had promised to return assets worth Rs 15 lakh in the year 2006. When he had asked the Sabha to refund his deposit of Rs 5,000, it had not returned the amount.

The CB-CID had registered a case under Section 420 of the IPC (cheating) and 477-A(production of false documents) and Money Circulation Act three and four.

Police said the Sabha had 12984 acres of land all over the country, Rs 12.96 crore deposited in its name in banks and owned 23 vehicles.

Police personnel have been posted at all the branches of the Sabha.

Police said the Sabha might be taken over by the Government and run by a special officer as it had been registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Act. (UNI)

BJP disclaims Cong charge on Romesh Sharma

NEW DELHI, Nov 7: BJP today disclaimed the Congress charge that it had linked Romesh Sharma, the alleged front man of Dubai-based don Dawood Ibrahim, with Congress saying Sharma had himself stated that he was formerly with the Congress.

The BJP did not make any allegation about Romesh Sharma’s links with Congress. We only stated what Sharma had said, party general secretary Venkaiah Naidu told newspersons here.

He alleged that Sharma had been set up by Congress to destroy Sanjay Vichar Manch after which he was rewarded with a party post.

Naidu said the Congress did not seem to have any remorse in appointing people like H K L Bhagat and others allegedly involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the capital in the party’s Election Campaign Committee for the Delhi Assembly elections.

The party seems to have given a go by to the Panchmarhi resolution that it would not give posts to those against whom cases have been filed in courts, he said.

On BJP’s election plank, he said the party would place all the scams before the people and ask them to make their own judgement.

He said the party was prepared to have a debate on the issue of price rise and we are not worried. Prices have begun showing a downward trend. (PTI)